


Arranged Marriage

by AstuteSunflower



Category: Batman - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:08:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25631809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstuteSunflower/pseuds/AstuteSunflower
Summary: Marinette becomes the Guardian of the Miraculous. To keep the people of the Order of the Miraculous safe, Marinette has to marry the heir to the League of Assassins.
Relationships: Daminette - Relationship, Lukami, RobStar - Relationship
Comments: 52
Kudos: 418
Collections: Damian Wayne / Marinette Dupain-Cheng





	1. Betrothed

**Author's Note:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

“What? Where am I?” Marinette thought as she looked around the dark room she was in. She tried to move towards the door across from her but found that she was chained to the farthest wall from the door. “Tikki?” No answer. “Tikki?!” 

“Will you quiet down!” A man yelled from the other side of the door. 

“Where am I? Who are you?” Marinette asked. 

“I’m someone who is losing his patience. Shut the hell up!” The man's voice boomed. 

Marinette whispered, scooting further into the corner. 

“Pathetic.” The man scoffed. 

“How to get out of here? The only light is coming from the small slit on the door, probably twenty five millimeter wide and one hundred twenty seven millimeters long. (One inch wide, 5 inches long). If he thinks I’m scared, which I kind of am but that doesn’t matter, I need to get out of here. But how?” Marinette thought. 

“It’s time. Bring her to the ceremonial room.” A woman’s voice said coldly. 

“Help! Help someone please!” Marinette yelled. 

“Let me in.” The woman said softly, the man grunted, and opened the door. “You’re not getting out of here until after the ceremony, Guardian.” The woman said harshly. 

“Who are you?” Marinette demand. 

“My name is Talia al Ghul, daughter of the demon. I am the head of the League of Assassins. Your kind has been a pain in our side from the beginning of your existence. Today will be the unification of the League of Assassins, and the Order of the Miraculous. You are to become the next Supreme Guardian of the Order. The League has made an offer to the Order, the Heir to the Demon will be betrothed to you, the next Guardian to insure the safety of the Order.” The woman said coldly. 

“You-you can’t do that!” Marinette yelled. “Where’s Tikki?! Where am I?!” Marinette yelled. 

“You are at the place it all began. The original temple of the Order. Surely your master told you about this place.” Talia stated. 

“Yes my master told me that the temple was destroyed!” Marinette yelled. 

“No, this temple lives on, and to insure that the Order lives on as well, you will be betrothed to the Heir to the Demon.” Talia spat. 

“How long have you kept me here?” Marinette asked. 

“A little over a day. You were not easy to find, I’ll give you that.” Talia said. 

“Mistress Talia, we are ready to begin.” A woman said as she came into the room with robes.

“What are those?” Marinette asked, trying to press herself further into her corner. 

“The ceremonial robes of the Order. You will wear these during the ceremony.” Talia said. 

“This is illegal! You can’t force me to marry someone! I’m a minor, I know for a fact my parents would never allow for this to happen!” Marinette yelled as the new woman put the ceremonial robes over her clothes. 

“What we are doing is between two ancient organizations that few in the world have heard of. When you became the next Supreme Guardian you agreed to the terms of the Order. You will marry the Heir to the Demon, or the blood of all associated with the Order of the Miraculous will be removed with no evidence to find them.” Talia threatened. 

“No.” Marinette whispered as she sobbed. “All of my classmates would be targeted. Luka, Chloé, Kagami! She would have them killed.”

“Any requests before the ceremony?” Talia asked unsympathetically. 

“I would like for both me, and the Heir to the Demon to return to our lives before this. When I’m eighteen I will legally marry the Heir to the Demon. I will not date nor think of another till then. I will swear myself to the Heir to the League and the Order today, and when I’m eighteen I will swear myself to the world legally.” Marinette’s tone was cold and bitter. 

“Do you swear it?” Talia asked, intrigued by the offer. 

“I swear it.” Marinette said sternly. 

“It is settled. After this day we will see each other as allies.” Talia stated before walking out of the room. 

A guard unlocked Marinette’s chains from the wall, and led her into a larger room with an altar at the end. There was a boy around Marinette’s age chained at the wrists and ankles. Marinette looked at him sympathetically. The ceremony was quick, neither Marinette nor the boy spoke. Marinette didn’t know anything about him besides what he looked like, and that he was the Heir to the Demon. All he knew was that she was the next Supreme Guardian of the Miraculous. Just after the unification the doors burst open. 

“Talia, release my son at once!” THE Batman yelled from the doors. 

“Hello my beloved. You missed the ceremony.” Talia said sweetly. 

“What did you do?” Batman growled. 

“I unified the League and the Order of the Miraculous. To prevent further war you will not interfere with what has been set in motion.” Talia said. 

“Father, don’t.” The Heir said coldly. 

“Excuse me beloved, I have to return. Till we meet again.” Talia said before walking out of the room, Batman and his team did nothing to stop her. 

“What did she do?” Batman asked sternly. 

“To prevent conflict we were wedded. Father, mother made a deal to which I know nothing about with her.” The Heir said as he looked at Marinette. 

“That woman is your mother?” Marinette asked, a little scared of whose side he was on. 

“Unfortunately yes. I have not seen her or shared the same views as her and the league since I was ten. I had no knowledge of this.” The Heir said coldly. 

“I’m sorry this happened to you.” Marinette said kindly albeit sadly. Marinette turned to Batman. “Monsieur, I made a deal with Talia so that we may both live the next few years of our lives with relative normalcy.” Marinette stated. 

“And what might that be?” Batman asked. 

“When I am eighteen we will marry legally. Until then I shall not partake in any romantic relationships, and the Heir to the Demon and I shall both continue our lives.” Marinette stated. “Those were the terms Talia and I came to an agreement on before the ceremony since we are minors. I know nothing about who any of you are but seeing you, I know you are at least my age. So to avoid legal problems I shall be eighteen when we are legally married.”

“How old are you Miss?” Red Robin asked. 

“I was born on July 9th, 2003.” Marinette stated. 

“Demon Spawn is just under a year older.” Red Hood snickered. 

“Hood!” The Heir yelled. 

“Sorry kid.” Red Hood shrugged. 

“If you don’t mind, I need to return home to Paris. My parents must be worried. Where are we?” Marinette asked. 

“Tibet.” All five men answered. 

“That time is it?” Marinette asked nervously. 

“In Paris, it’s around five in the afternoon. Here, it’s about eleven in the evening.” Red Robin said. 

Marinette started to freak out. “Oh no oh no ohnoohnoohno! My parents are going to freak! What’s happened in Paris since I’ve been gone?! Where’s Tikki? Tikki? Tikki!”

“Marinette!” Tikki yelled as she zipped into the room. “Marinette! You’re okay! I was worried about what that woman would do to you! I couldn’t find you, they had me in some form of magic blocking box.” 

“Oh Tikki, you’re safe.” Marinette sighed. “I need to transform. Tikki, spots on!” 

“What the?” Red Hood asked. 

Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo to check on Paris. So far no akumas since three days ago. Marinette de-transformed. “I will explain everything in time. I need my parents to know I’m safe. We need a cover story. Anybody have any ideas?” Ladybug asked. 

“We could fake a kidnapping? Make it obvious for the cops to find her.” Nightwing suggested. 

“What would you do? Tell the cops where I am? Oh! We can use my alias as the reason for the kidnapping.” Ladybug thought. 

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Batman asked. 

“It would give me the least backlash possible. If I was kidnapped nobody would think I ran away. If we send a video showing me ‘unconscious’ and send it to the police with someone talking, obviously your voice would have to get altered like they do in movies so it can’t be traced to you. But send the video calling for some random, make the location obvious but not too obvious.” Ladybug said cheerfully. 

“This is officially the weirdest day ever. Also one issue, if they find you awake then that could raise suspicion.” Red Robin stated. 

“What if I was calling for help when they would start looking? We can find the spot, you guys can tie me up, send the video then leave, and head back to Gotham. Tikki can fly to my house, and hide in my room so that nobody sees her when they come here. I could get left somewhere like on a ship by Pont des Arts. It’s obvious, and if I’m calling for help some would be bound to find me. Maybe someone could call the police saying they were hearing someone calling for help on the boat about an hour after the ransom demand? If we did that then we would have to make it so that the video doesn’t give the police as much luck with finding me before the phone call.” Ladybug said. 

Sure enough after an almost six hour flight they were acting out on the plan. Red Hood demanded the ransom while Nightwing called the disturbance at the Pont des Arts. After the phone call the Batfam left with promises to keep in touch. Once Marinette could hear sirens she started calling for help. Five minutes later she was being untied by a cop. 

Marinette gave her statement to the police while waiting for her parents to arrive at the station. 

“Marinette!” Her parents called. 

“Maman! Papa!” Marinette called as she ran to her parents. 

“Honey, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Sabine asked. 

I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me.” Marinette smiled. 

“How are you smiling after what you went through? Whenever we encounter a kidnapped family member they are crying and shaky after the whole ordeal.” A police man asked. 

“I don’t know what happened. I was unconscious through the majority of this whole ordeal. One minute I’m walking through Paris, and the next I’m calling for help on a boat. And I would rather spend my life smiling and being happy to be reunited with my family then shaking in fear of what might happen. I’m safe, and I’m home.” Marinette said as she cried slightly at the thought of being back home in the hell that was Paris.


	2. The plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets with Nightwing and the heir to discuss how to handle their situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

The next two weeks passed, and Marinette hadn’t heard from the Gotham heroes. Marinette was sitting on her floor working on a commission for Jagged Stone when her phone rang. 

“Hello?” Marinette asked. 

“Marinette, it’s Nightwing. We need to talk about what happened the other week. I will be coming with” 

“Don't say his name! I don’t want to know his identity unless he tells me in person, the same goes for you.” Marinette whispered softly. 

“Okay, we will be coming in two weeks so we can discuss your situation. The rest of the team would be glad to come along but they can’t get away without making things difficult for both our hero, and civilian identities. So only me, and the Heir to the Demon will be coming to Paris. We will send you the location where we can meet up next week. Stay safe.” Nightwing said before hanging up the phone. 

“You.. too.” Marinette said even though the line went dead. 

“Marinette, you should get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.” Tikki said sweetly. 

“Thanks Tikki. It’s a good thing I went missing on a weekend so I didn’t miss any schoolwork.” Marinette thought. 

“Are you ready to meet them?” Tikki asked. 

“Not entirely. I’m pretty nervous but this is something we need to do.” Marinette sighed. 

“I’m sorry this happened to you Marinette.” Tikki said sadly. 

“It’s okay Tikki. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else. In a way, I’m glad about this happening to me. Can you imagine if it happened to one of the girls in my class?” Marinette giggled. 

“That would be unfortunate for the Heir.” Tikki giggled. 

“Tell me about it. Good night Tikki.” Marinette yawned. 

“Good night Marinette.” Tikki said before turning out the lights. 

“Mari!” Chloé yelled as she sat down at her, and Marinette’s desk towards the back of the class. 

“Hey Chloé.” Marinette smiled. 

“Gami, Luka, and I were planning on meeting up at the park today after school. You in?” Chloé asked. 

“Sure.” Marinette smiled. “How are you this morning?” 

“Better than yesterday. Mom’s coming back from NYC next weekend.” Chloé smiled. 

“That’s great!” Marinette cheered. 

“I know right! I haven’t seen her in months!” Chloé squealed. 

“Girls, whatever it is you can talk about it after class. Everyone please pull out your books, and start reading chapters ten through thirteen.” Ms. Bustier said as she walked into the room. 

Marinette and Chloé rolled their eyes before reading. 

The rest of the day went quick. Marinette and Chloé walked to the park and waited for Luka and Kagami to join them before working on schoolwork, and having their weekly chats. 

“So Mari, how’s things going with the welcome mat?” Luka teased. 

“God! Adrien came up to us during class, and tried to tell me that he was going to help with outing Lila ‘more than he already has’ if I said yes to a date.” Marinette groaned. “He won’t take no for an answer.”

“Aw cheer up baby bug. I’m sure he’ll realize he’s the perfect welcome mat for Lila some day.” Luka laughed. 

“I swear, he almost never paid me any attention then after the thing a few weeks ago he’s obsessed with me. How did he even find out?” Marinette asked. 

“I think he followed me when I walked into the bakery, and the police were there when the guys were asking for the ransom. He probably asked one of the guys who walked out after what happened.” Chloé sighed. 

“I’m surprised nobody got akumatized those two days. Especially your parents.” Kagami said sadly. 

“I’m glad they didn’t.” Marinette said happily. 

“Yeah, imagine your parents getting akumatized while you’re being held. That would have been the worst way to come out to everyone.” Luka laughed. 

“Imagine if one of our classmates getting akumatized is what ends up forcing me to come out.” Marinette laughed. 

“Marinette?” Adrien asked from behind the bluenette. 

Marinette sighed before turning around. “Yes Adrien?” 

“I-I just wanted to tell you that my offer”

“No.” Marinette shook her head before the boy finished. 

“But why?!” Adrien asked angrily. 

“Because you’re a year and a half late Adrien.” Marinette sighed. “In both the fact that I had liked you a year and a half ago, and with helping with Lila. If I agreed to your conditions you would just tell me she isn’t hurting anyone. She got me expelled! I know you’re the one that told her to fix it but that’s after you refused to stick up for me. Then you allowed me and Chloé to be isolated from the class, and did nothing. We will never be together because the person you ‘love’ learned that you don’t love her. You keep telling me to be someone that I’m not to save face. You and Lila are perfect for each other, we aren’t.” Marinette huffed before sitting down in her spot on the grass. 

“Why can’t you just see reason?! After everything I’ve done for you?” Adrien asked. 

“You didn’t do anything for me! Everything you have done was for yourself. You let me get isolated, your first real friend that you made by yourself. Then you let your first friend you ever had get isolated because she got targeted by Lila for being at the top of the class via popularity. Trying to force me into a relationship by using Lila as an excuse to go on a date is just sad. You think that I would go on a date with you because you would ‘help me’ is just pathetic.” Marinette said without even looking at Adrien. 

“Marinette, I love you. Please Marinette, you can’t do this to me.” Adrien said softly. 

“Adrien, you will leave now or we will be bringing you to court under harassment charges against Marinette. You will be served a restraining order, and will legally not be allowed to make any communication towards Marinette.” Kagami threatened. 

Adrien huffed before walking away. 

“And another video for the ‘Adrien’s a dick’ album on my phone.” Luka sighed. 

“How long have you guys been doing that?” Marinette asked. 

“We’ve been videoing his ‘confessions’ for months. Chloé and I take turns. If we’re together it’s whoever has their phone out first or whoever is with you at the time.” Luka shrugged. 

“It’s just evidence, I might take you up on that restraining order Gami.” Marinette laughed. 

“Good! Now, let’s get to work.” Chloé said as she pulled out her school books. 

“Marinette, sweetheart, can you come down, and help your father in the bakery?” Sabine asked from the family room. 

“Coming!” Marinette yelled as she ran out of her trap door, through the apartment, and down into the bakery. 

“Ah Marinette, can you please help me with these cookies for tomorrow?” Tom asked. 

“Sure papa.” Marinette smiled as she put on her apron. 

The next two weeks were filled with Marinette waiting for Nightwing or the Heir to call her. 

“Marinette! Your phone!” Tiki yelled as she flew over to Marinette’s sewing machine to hand the girl her ringing phone. 

“Hello?” Marinette asked. 

“Hello Marinette. We have made it to our hideout. If you would like, we can meet up in one hour at Pont des Arts by the ship.” Nightwing said. 

“Sure, yeah we can meet up there. I’ll tell my parents I’m meeting with some friends online from some abroad school or something.” Marinette said softly. 

“Okay, we will be waiting. You’ll see me in a blue cap, and the Heir in a red cap.” Nightwing said before the line went dead. 

“Maman?” Marinette asked as she walked into the kitchen. “I have two friends from abroad who just came in today. I met them while doing one of my commissions. They just called, and asked if I could show them around a bit. May I?”

“Of course dear. Stay safe.” Sabine said as she hugged her daughter. “Check in every half hour. If we don’t hear from you in an hour we’ll call the cops.” 

“I will maman. It’s one twenty two, I’ll text you in eight minutes to start the check in’s.” Marinette smiled before rushing out of the apartment. 

Marinette walked to Pont des Arts. Once she got to the boat they used to stage her kidnapping she began to look around. She saw a man with a blue cap, and the Heir with a red cap walking towards her. Once they sat down they began to talk. 

“Marinette, how would you like to discuss our situation? Out here or we can go to a more private place like a rooftop.” Nightwing offered. 

“Let’s go to the Eiffel Tower. It’s the best way to avoid getting seen. Shocker I know.” Marinette giggled. 

“Okay, we can meet in twenty minutes.” The Heir said. 

“Okay, do you have any way to get to the top? If not I can meet you two down by a nearby rooftop, and bring you up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.” Marinette offered. 

“We’ll meet you on a nearby rooftop.” The Heir said before standing up, and walking away with Nightwing. 

Twenty minutes later Ladybug stood on the top of the Eiffel Tower watching for Nightwing. She saw him and who she assumed was the Heir on a rooftop running closer to the tower. She quickly swung down to meet the two. 

“Ladybug.” Nightwing greeted. 

“Hello. So your Robin?” Ladybug asked with a smile. 

“Tt.” The Heir grumbled. 

“Okay, I can bring you up one person at a time. So, who’s first?” Ladybug smiled. 

Nightwing stepped up and shrugged. “He’s stubborn.”

“It’s okay! Hold on.” Ladybug said before carrying up Nightwing. He was a bit heavier than she thought but it was fine. 

Once they landed Ladybug started to fidget. Nightwing took something out of his ear. 

“Hey, it’s alright kid. He’s not a people person. If he’s making you uncomfortable or anything let me know.” Nightwing said as he put his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder. 

“Thanks Nightwing.” Ladybug said with a wry smile before going to pick up the Heir. 

It was slightly awkward carrying up the Heir/Robin but they just decided not to mention it. 

“Okay, we know your identity but you don’t know ours. So I’m Dick Grayson.” Nightwing said with a smile. 

“Damian Wayne.” 

“Okay. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but you already know that.” Ladybug said awkwardly. “Umm, so what do you guys want to talk about?”

“How are we going to explain the fact that we are ‘married’ to your parents?” Robin asked. 

“Well, I told my maman that you two were friends from abroad that I made commissions for.” Ladybug said. 

“Okay, we can roll with that. That gives us a perfect cover. Two kids met through your business. Damian can apply for a study abroad program and the two of you can get to know each other better. Then in a few years Damian pops the question and you live happily ever after to keep peace.” Nightwing explained. 

“I can work with that.” Ladybug smiled. “But it’s not very safe here in Paris. Hawk Moth has been terrorizing Paris for the last two years. My master just recently passed the duty of Guardian to me. That is most likely the reason for this engagement. I am still sorry this has happened to you.” Ladybug said as she tried to put a gentle hand on Robin’s shoulder but drew her hand back. 

Robin sighed softly, and put his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. My mother is the reason for this. You made our situation easier for the both of us.”

“Thank you. If you would both like I can show you around the city a bit more.” Ladybug smiled. “Oh, I have to check in with my maman. Tikki, spots off.” 

Marinette quickly pulled her phone out, and texted her mother. As she put her phone back she took a step, and slipped. Robin immediately caught, and steadied her. 

“Thank you.” Marinette smiled. “Tikki spots on.” 

“I can bring you both down, and we can meet back at the park.” Ladybug said. 

“Okay.” Nightwing nodded. 

Soon enough the three were meeting up at the park. 

“So Marinette, what are your interests?” Dick asked. 

“Well, I like fashion, and helping my parents in the bakery or the community. I have a lot of free time on my hands.” Marinette chuckled. 

“Good good Monsieur Adrien! Now to the left.” A man said with a thick Italian accent. “We may take a break.”

“Marinette!” Adrien ran up towards Marinette, Damian and Dick. 

“Adrien I thought I told you to stay away from me?” Marinette said angrily. 

“You can’t tell me that you truly mean that. You said it yourself that you loved me. You can love me again! Please Marinette, just give me a chance.” Adrien said as he grabbed Marinette’s hand. 

“No.” Marinette said bitterly. 

“Marinette please.” Adrien begged. 

“She said no, now get away from her.” Damian said as he removed Marinette’s hands from Adrien’s. 

“Who are you?” Adrien asked angrily. 

“I am none of your business. However what concerns Marinette concerns me. She said to leave her alone, and you will.” Damian said coldly, even Dick was a little unnerved. 

“You can’t tell me what to do. I don’t know you.” Adrien said as if he were proud of himself. 

“You’re right I can’t tell you what to do. I can just sue your pathetic existence for harassment charges, and bring shame to your name within the week.” Damian scoffed. 

Adrien turned tail and ran. 

“Marinette, how long has that been happening to you?” Dick asked. 

“A few months. Adrien has been professing his love for me since the kidnapping. He’s almost as bad as Chat Noir was until the Cat stopped coming to battles.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Isn’t he your partner?” Dick asked. 

“Yes. The last two months Chat has had this habit of not coming to battles or coming late. I made a team for intense battles. Two of the people on my team are no longer trust worthy to wield the miraculous. I have three others I depend on. They are the only three people in Paris who know my identity, and I trust them with my life. Chat would have been a part of that group of few if it wasn’t for his behavior.” Marinette sighed. 

“Why haven’t you found a replacement for Chat?” Damian asked. 

“Because there hasn’t been a healthy replacement for him yet. We are so deep into this that to give the power of destruction to a new party is harder than it sounds. I also don’t know who is behind the mask.” Marinette said sadly. 

“Hopefully this doesn’t last too much longer.” Dick reassured. 

“Thanks Dick. How much longer will you two be in Paris?” Marinette asked. 

“Just a few days. Damian’s school is on break but it ends Monday. So we will be leaving Sunday.” Dick said. 

“Well then, we have four days for us to figure out the best solution for our predicament.” Marinette smiled.


	3. A normal day in Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette shows Damian around Paris for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

For the next four days Marinette, Dick and Damian came to the conclusion that the next year Damian would come study abroad as Damian Grayson for a month. Seeing as Damian would be in the year above Marinette, he would possibly be in Luka’s class. 

“So Damian, you’re sixteen?” Marinette asked. 

“Yes, and you are fifteen.” Damian confirmed. 

“Correct. At least our age won’t cause problems with the public. Two people who are eleven months apart getting married is easier than an eighteen year old, and a twenty three year old getting married.” Marinette chuckled. 

“She’s right Little D. If you were much older the press would have a field day. They’d say you're like B with the whole playboy act.” Dick stated. 

“I would never allow such a thing to happen.” Damian shook his head. 

“Sure thing Little D.” Dick chuckled. 

“Damian, if you don’t mind. I’d like to talk with you privately.” Marinette asked. 

“Of course.” Damian said. 

Dick left to give the two some space. 

“I turn eighteen in less than three years. My parents wouldn’t let me marry someone that I’ve dated for a short time. I think that it would be west if you and I pretended to be a couple in the eyes of the public when near my parents. If need be I can try to get a trip to Gotham or we can become a couple when you come back to Paris.” Marinette started to ramble. 

“Marinette, if you think it’s best we can come back to Paris, and your parents can get to know me better. That way they know who I am. Then when I come back for the abroad trip we can begin a relationship. We can keep in contact in the time being so that there is proof that we aren’t just starting a relationship on a whim. If you are comfortable with that.” Damian said, he’s tone was a bit distant if not cold. 

“That might be best. Here, I can give you my number, and we can text, and get to know each other better.” Marinette smiled. 

Damian nodded, and gave Marinette his phone. Marinette gave him his and they both put in their numbers before returning their phones. 

“Great! We can text, and get to know each other better this way.” Marinette said happily. 

“Sure. But we will have to remember time zones, and our other responsibilities.” Damian said. 

“Of course.” Marinette smiled. 

“Goodbye Marinette, we will see each other again in a few months.” Damian said before leaving. 

“Damian.” Marinette called, and waited for him to turn around. “Thank you.”

Damian nodded before walking away. 

“Baby bug, who are you texting?” Chloé teased

“Yeah okay.” Marinette mumbled as she continued to text. 

“Geez, who is this guy?” Luka laughed. 

“She hasn’t told me anything. They’ve been texting for weeks, and she still won’t tell even me.” Chloé laughed. 

“She probably doesn’t want anyone to know who it is.” Kagami shrugged. 

“Or who they are. I think Mari has a crush on this guy.” Luka smirked. 

Marinette: Wait, you have how many pets?

Damian: I have four pets. 

Marinette: And they are what exactly?

Marinette couldn’t help but smile as she typed away. 

Damian: One of my pets I’m not telling you the species and one I’m not telling you the name on text. I have Goliath, a cow, Titus the dog, and Alfred the cat. 

Damian: Do you have any pets?

Marinette: No, but I wish I could have one. With the bakery we can’t risk having any pets in the house legally. I have rescued a few pets. I have a dove that comes and visits me once a week since I found it, and let him stay in my room for a few hours during a storm. 

Damian: That was very thoughtful of you. 

Damian: Heu Maeinetty? It’s Duck. I stole Damian’s phone he mat kill me but it’s fone. Just wanred to check up on you to swe how yout doing. 

Marinette: Please don’t kill Duck, Damian! 

Marinette giggled, and put her phone away. “What?” 

“You just giggled while texting some guy we don’t know.” Chloé said with a smirk. 

“He’s a friend. His brother stole his phone.” Marinette smiled. 

“You like this guy, don’t you.” Luka pressed. 

“What? No.” Marinette laughed nervously. 

“Then why are you smiling?” Chloé smirked. 

“Because it’s nice to get to talk with someone, and not have to step on eggshells. And if I embarrass myself I can just not text him for a few days instead of being forced to talk to him in person hours later.” Marinette said awkwardly. 

“Do you like him?” Luka asked. 

“No.” Marinette shook her head. 

“Tikki, I’m super nervous. We’re introducing Damian to my parents today. He came in yesterday, and now he’s meeting my parents. What are they going to say? I mean, they’ll probably ask a bunch of questions because that’s what they do but I mean, what if they make things super awkward. If something goes wrong that could mean the end of the Order. It could be the start of a war between assassins, and the Miraculous holders. That would actually be interesting. But no, we can’t think about that.” Marinette said nervously. 

“Marinette, breathe. You and Damian have become friends over the last few months which is a good thing. We have a story that is almost completely true. You two met while you were doing a commission, he came here because he’s thinking about studying abroad.” Tikki said sweetly. 

“I know, I just hate lying.” Marinette said softly. 

“If you tell them the truth Paris could lose its Ladybug. It’s a sacrifice we have to make.” Tikki stated. 

“That doesn’t make this any easier.” Marinette sighed. 

“I am deeply sorry. Please forgive me, Supreme Guardian.” Tikki giggled, causing Marinette to giggle as well

“Marinette! There’s a nice boy here to speak with you!” Sabine called from the kitchen. 

“Coming maman!” Marinette called. 

“The Supreme Guardian is being summoned. I feel like my roll has been forgotten.” Tikki said seriously. 

Marinette started to laugh, and couldn’t contain herself until after she was down in the bakery. 

“Marinette, what’s so funny?” Tom asked. 

“Nothing, sorry. It was something a friend told me.” Marinette stiffelled her laughter. 

“It’s okay dear.” Sabine said with a soft smile. 

“Hey Damian.” Marinette smiled. “Maman, papa, this is Damian. He’s thinking of coming to Paris to study abroad next year.” Marinette smiled. 

“Oh wonderful! What grade would you be going into?” Sabine asked. 

“I’m going to be a year above Marinette.” Damian stated. 

“That’s wonderful.” Tom smiled. 

“Just make sure to always check your sources.” Sabine said with a bite. 

“Maman, let’s not talk about that right now. Damian if you would like to I can bring you on a tour of parts of the city?” Marinette asked. 

“That would be great, thank you.” Damian said. 

Marinette nodded and walked out of the bakery with Damian. “I’m sorry about that.”

“You say sorry a lot you know.” Damian stated. 

“I’ve been told.” Marinette shrugged. 

“What did your mother mean when she said to check my sources?” Damian asked. 

“There’s a girl at school who has a ‘lying disability’. It’s totally shit, I looked it up when I got home, and got nothing besides that she’s a sociopathic liar.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Why haven’t you told anyone?” 

“Every time I spoke up people thought I was just jealous. At this point I just roll my eyes, and continue with my day. She hasn’t done anything that bad to me in the last few weeks so I’m fine I guess. She showed me the true colors of my class. I’m happy with the friends I have now, and that’s all that matters.” Marinette sighed. 

“You sure have an optimistic view on your situation.” Damian scoffed. 

“If not caring anymore is optimistic then sure, I’m an optimist.” Marinette shrugged. “How long until you start school in Paris?”

“Three months. While I’m here I’m going to help you collect data on your ‘project’.” Damian stated. 

There was screaming in the distance. Marinette quickly pulled Damian into an ally. 

“Stay here, do not leave.” Marinette ordered. “Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug quickly zipped away. 

“Heya bugs.” Viperion said as Queen Bee and Ladybug came to the fight. 

“Hey V. What’s happening?” Queen Bee asked. 

“Teen girl didn’t get invited to the movies with two of her friends.” Viperion stated. 

“The akuma might be in her phone.” Queen Bee suggested. 

“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Give me your Miraculous!” The akuma yelled. 

“How bout nah.” Chat Noir shrugged. 

“Hello Chat Noir.” Ladybug said with no emotion. 

“Aw, Bugaboo, no love?” Chat Noir tilted his head. 

“You would know all about love wouldn’t you Chat Noir.” Queen Bee sneered. 

“Buzz off little bee.” Chat Noir said bitterly. “This is between me and M’lady.”

“I’m not your lady Chat Noir.” Ladybug grumbled before charging the akuma. 

Chat did nothing during the battle while the rest of the team worked together to stop the akuma. 

“Hey, I’m sure your friends had a reason for not inviting you. Why don’t you ask them?” Ladybug asked the girl softly. 

“Thank you Ladybug, Viperion and Queen Bee! You guys are the best!” The girl smiled. 

“Of course sweetheart. What’s your name?” Queen Bee asked. 

“Valerie.” 

“Well Valerie, you are a brave girl. Stay strong okay? If you stay strong you could be just as strong as Ladybug.” Queen Bee winked. 

“Really?” Valarie asked. 

“Really.” Viperion smiled. 

After that the heroes left. 

“Damian? Damian?” Marinette asked once she dropped her transformation in the ally. 

“Right here Marinette. What happened?” Damian asked as she piped out from behind a dumpster. 

“A teen girl felt left out by some of her friends when they went to see a movie. Chat Noir barely helped with the battle.” Marinette sighed. 

“I don’t understand why you would let him stay as a hero.” Damian stated. 

“Because I don’t know who he is.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Right. So why don’t you wait till he transforms back, steal the miraculous when he’s sleeping, and then give it to someone you trust?” Damian asked. 

“Then risk an akuma that could reveal that he was Chat Noir, and could become a target across Paris.” Marinette sighed. 

“Fair point.” Damian said. 

“Hey, you said you wouldn’t tell me what species Goliath was or the name or your cow.” Marinette suggested. 

“Goliath is a dragon bat, and my cow’s name is Bat-Cow.” Damian shrugged. 

“That’s so cool!” Marinette smiled. 

“What’s cool Maribitch?” Alya asked from behind the teens. 

“Alya!” Nino said in shock. 

“None of your business Alya.” Marinette sighed. 

“I should warn you, Marinette is a liar, and a bully. Don’t trust anything she says. She’s manipulative and” Alya started. 

“That’s enough. We’re leaving.” Damian glared before grabbing Marinette’s hand, and walking across the street. 

“You will regret hurting Lila, Marinette!” Alya yelled from the other side of the street. 

“Marinette are you okay?” Damian asked. 

“I’m fine.” Marinette growled. 

“Is she always like that?” Damian asked. 

“Since Lila came into the picture, almost. She was my best friend.” Marinette said sadly. 

“She doesn’t sound like a good friend Marinette.” Damian said. 

“No kidding.” Marinette huffed. 

Marinette and Damian talked about different things they did in their free time. For Damian it was studying, training or painting. Marinette put all of her free time into her business, and being Ladybug. 

“God I am so glad you were only here for a week! I honestly don’t think I can handle your constant need to tell me what I should be doing to handle Hawk Moth. Every single thing I’ve done about Hawk Moth you’ve either acted like I did the bare minimum to be successful or you criticized me on what I need to do better. Guess what Damian you might be the son of the famous Bruce Wayne but that doesn’t make you invincible or give you the right to tell me how to live my life! You’re just a privileged rich boy who thinks they are far better in any, and every way than everyone else. Guess what! Your mom might run the League, and your father might be a billionaire but I don’t care! You’re just a major jerk!” Marinette yelled as she stormed out of Damian’s apartment, slammed the door, and went to Chloé’s. 

Damian stood in shock at what just happened. “Grayson, you’re picking me up from the airport. Nobody else.” Damian said once he called his brother. 

“Baby bug? What happened?” Chloé asked as Marinette stormed into her room. 

“Damian.” Marinette growled. 

“What did he do?” Chloé asked. 

“All week he’s been treating me like I’m below him. Just because he’s got a dick doesn’t mean he’s superior.” Marinette grumbled. “Now I know why they call him the Ice Prince of Gotham.”

“He’s the guy you we texting the last few weeks right?” Chloé asked. 

“Yes. And even then he was a bit of a jerk but he’s ten times more of a jerk in person when he doesn’t have a backspace button.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Marinette, you need to calm down. If you don’t you could get akumatized!” Tikki warned. 

Marinette took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before sighing. “I don’t understand him.”

“He seems to have a superiority complex.” Chloé shrugged. 

“Chloé!”

“What, bug?! He acts like he’s better than everyone but I’m sure he feels less than how he acts. If anyone would know, I would.” Chloé shrugged. 

“Look, he’s a jerk.” Marinette started. 

“But he’s a cute jerk?” Chloé added. 

“No, he’s a jerk but he grew up too fast. He was taught to be the best at everything, and that he doesn’t have time for friends.” Marinette sighed. 

“You’re too good for your own good.” Chloé sighed as she hugged her best friend. 

“He’ll be back in a few months to start studying abroad. He’ll be here for a month.” Marinette said. 

“Great. So the guy that you just told off to me will be back in a few months?” Chloé asked. 

“And to his face.” Marinette mumbled. 

“You told him off to his face!” Chloé laughed. “Girl you better have set that boy straight!”

“I think I just wounded his ego.” Marinette mumbled but wore a small satisfied smile. 

“You’re great, bug.” Chloé laughed.


	4. The exchange student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This doesn’t regard the story but I might not be posting a lot the next few weeks. I found out today that one of my family members tested positive for COVID-19 and my other family member has been having symptoms. I’ll post as much as I can but there’s no promises. You all have been super supportive and I love you all for it. Thanks for reading my stories!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

The next few months Marinette dealt with Alya telling everyone that Marinette had brainwashed a boy into being her boyfriend. Lila had gotten a boost of energy and decided Marinette hadn’t had a bad day in a few weeks. Hawk Moth decided that he would make Paris’s life hell, and unleashed an akuma three times a week for six weeks. Chat had actually helped a lot during those few weeks, and was starting to help a bit more. Adrien tried to make Marinette ‘see reason’ but ended up getting verbally beaten to a pulp, and walked away with his head hung low. Damian hadn’t spoken to Marinette since she called him out but, Dick had gotten her number, and she would keep him informed. He didn’t even answer the text she sent a few weeks after the incident to see if he wanted to talk, Dick told her that he was alive, and that he was just not ready to talk. 

One week till Damian gets here. Nothing got better. 

Four days. 

Two days. 

He should be landing in a few hours. 

Of course Marinette’s parents decided Marinette should pick Damian up from the airport. So here Marinette was, with Chloé on the phone while standing on the sidewalk in front of the airport waiting for Damian to come out of the airport. 

“I’m telling you Chloé I haven’t talked to him since the day I came over a few months ago, and we had that sleepover and watched Titanic, Kissing Booth, Heathers, Mean Girls, and Clueless. Yes I know Heathers and Mean Girls were basically the same movie just based off of a different decade in the twentieth century. Oh shoot, here he comes. I’m gonna go. Bye Chlo.” Marinette quickly stuffed her phone in her pocket. “Damian.” Marinette said, lacking much of any emotions. 

“Marinette.” Damian said with no emotion. 

“If you are ready we can leave.” Marinette said as she turned towards the car. 

Damian just followed and the two drove in silence. Once at the place Damian would be staying at Marinette parked in a spot. 

“Would you like to come up so we can talk?” Damian asked. 

Marinette took a deep breath before nodding, and getting out of the car. 

Damian closed the apartment door, and Marinette let it out. 

“Why did you just not do anything? I called you out, said so many rude things to you, and you just said nothing. I called you a privileged rich boy, a jerk, and said that you are critical. You said nothing, just flew back to Gotham, and didn’t say anything to me for months. I texted you to see how you were doing, and you just had your brother text me saying you weren’t ready to talk. And now suddenly you are?” Marinette snapped. 

“Yes.” Damian said with no emotion. 

“And what do you possibly want to talk about?” Marinette rolled her eyes. 

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I have been a massive jerk the last few months. I want to make it up to you so that we can better pretend to be a couple so that we can work out our plan.” Damian answered. 

“So this is all about the stupid plan?! What about how you feel Damian? Does your feelings mean nothing?” Marinette asked. 

“I’ve learned that whenever my mother is involved it’s best not to let emotions get in the way.” Damian stated. 

“Oh really? So the fact that your mother forced you to get married at sixteen doesn’t give you a reason to express your feelings?” Marinette asked, getting a little annoyed. Damian didn’t look Marinette in the eyes and she continued. “Damian, I’m officially sixteen. It’s mid October which means we have less then twenty one months before you and I are going to actually be getting married. I ruined your life before you were eighteen! For the rest of your life you’re going to be stuck with someone like me.” 

“Marinette, you didn’t ruin my life. You had no control over any of this.” Damian said softly. 

“No Damian I kind of did. I could have just said that instead of getting married we could just call a truce. But no, I agreed to marriage.” Marinette started to freak out and squeezed her eyes shut. 

“Shit, she’s freaking out. What would Grayson do if Kori was acting like this? What does Grayson do when Kori starts to freak out or just won't shut up?” Damian thought. Before even realizing what he was doing he hugged Marinette. She didn’t even seem to register what he was doing. “Okay, what else does Grayson do? Oh right!” Damian gently lifted Marinette’s face to look at his. 

“Damian I am so sorry! I could have told your mother no. But if I told her no she would have massacred the Order. If she did that then the Miraculous would be in the hands of assassins.” 

Damian realized that Marinette wasn’t going to shut up so he threw caution to the wind. Slowly Damian leaned his head down, and softly kissed Marinette who immediately froze before relaxing a bit. Damian slowly pulled away. 

“Sorry, you wouldn’t stop freaking out.” Damian said awkwardly. 

Marinette blushed heavily, and Damian thought she might collapse. 

“I, I should probably get going.” Marinette stuttered before walking towards the door. 

“You blame yourself for this but this isn’t your fault. We’re just teenagers who didn’t get to have normal lives. You’re a magical superhero, and I was an assassin turned vigilante. I mean, you didn’t even know anything besides what your master taught you. My mother taught me all about the League, and the Order.” Damian said awkwardly. 

“I blame myself for not giving you the chance to have enough freedom to be a teenager. I told your mother I’d marry you when I’m eighteen, I should have told her twenty one but here in Paris you’re an adult at eighteen.” Marinette said softly. 

“I don't think she would have let that happen Marinette.” Damian said. 

“Damian, I’m.”

“If you say sorry again I might go crazy. You’ve spent the last five minutes telling me how you’re sorry but I never told you how I feel.” Damian paused for a second. “Look Marinette, I'm sorry this happened, and I’m sorry I’m bad with talking to people on any platform. I’m sorry that I’m a jerk, and I’m sorry that you have to give up the rest of your life so that you don’t have to risk the destruction of the Order. You’re giving up your life to protect people you never met. You made a deal with the daughter of the Demon just so that you and I could come up with a plan for the spontaneous marriage between secret societies. You saved so many lives Marinette. You are an Angel, and yet you’re sorry.” Damian said softly. 

Marinette smiled before hugging Damian who found the act a little endearing, and awkwardly accepted it. 

“You’re still a jerk.” Marinette laughed. 

“Yes but I think you can help me with that.” Damian said with a soft smile. 

“Okay.” Marinette nodded. “Umm, I should let you get settled. Bye!” Marinette quickly ran to the car. “Tikki! He kissed me.” 

“How do you feel?” Tikki asked with a soft smile. 

“So confused!” Marinette pressed her head to the top of the steering wheel. 

“What are you going to do?” Tikki asked. 

“Well, I can’t exactly tell Chloé. Maybe I can text him later.” Marinette thought. 

“Maybe.” Tikki shrugged. 

“Actually I’ll just let him rest. We have school tomorrow.” Marinette shrugged before starting the car and driving off. 

“Excuse me Ms. Bustier, can you send Marinette to the principal's office after class?” Principal Damocles asked on the intercom. 

“Yes Principal Damocles.” Ms. Bustier answered. 

The class started to whisper, and some students laughed thinking about why Marinette was going to the principal's office. Marinette sat in her seat in worry for the remainder of class. 

Once the bell rang Marinette walked to the office, and knocked on the door. 

“Come in.” Principal Damocles called from inside the office, Marinette walked in with her head low wondering what would happen this time. “Ms. Marinette, today we have a new student from America. Knowing you have the best grades in your English class for the last three years I would like for you to show Mr. Grayson around the school.”

Marinette’s head shot up at the name. “Yes, Principal Damocles.” 

“Thank you dear. The two of you can go.” Principal Damocles said as he sat in his chair. 

Marinette and Damian walked out of the room. 

“He’s the principal?” Damian asked. 

“Yes, so be nice. He expelled me for a few days because of Lila’s ‘disease’.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Well then, he’s completely incompetent.” Damian grunted. 

“Hey!” Marinette wacked Damian’s arm. “Be nice.”

Damian rolled his eyes but smiled softly. 

“Marinette! How can you be so rude to someone?” Lila shreaked. 

“What Lila?” Marinette deadpanned. 

“You just hit that poor guy. I’m so sorry about Marinette. She has a tendency to get.. violent.” Lila said with a smirk. 

“Actually, Marinette and I are friends.” Damian said. “We met almost a year ago actually. Should I know you?” Damian asked boredly. 

“Lila Rossi.” Lila said with a sickening sweet smile. 

“Okay, well Marinette was showing me around the school. Goodbye.” Damian said before walking away with Marinette. “Isn’t this your lunch break?”

“It’s everyone’s lunch break. We have an hour. Do you want to stop, and I can show you around possibly after school?” Marinette asked. 

“There’s really no need to show me around. I memorized the blueprints for the building.” Damian said with a shrug. 

“Of course you did.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well then let’s have lunch. My friends and I usually eat in the art room.” 

“Fine.” Damian said with no expression. 

“Why do you have to look so broody?” Marinette joked. 

“I'm always ‘broody’.” Damian stated. 

“Yeah okay. Well here we are. The art room.” Marinette opened the door. “Hey everyone! This is my friend from Gotham, Damian Grayson.” Marinette smiled. 

Chloé immediately stood up and walked towards the duo. “I currently don’t like you. Marinette, should I like him?” Chloé asked. 

“I like him.” Marinette shrugged. “I mean as a umm like as a friend. I-I don’t like him like him. We’re just friends and I umm. I’m going to shut up now!” Marinette covered her mouth and walked over to Luka. 

“Hey Marinette.” Luka said nicely. 

Marinette just waved. Luka smiled before handing Marinette his phone. 

“Marinette uncover your face. You look silly.” Kagami teased. 

Marinette took her hand off of her mouth and frowned. It lasted two seconds before she was giggling. 

“Maribug, why are you being so weird?” Chloé laughed. “You haven’t acted like this since…” Chloé’s face morphed into a grin. 

“Chloé, no.” Marinette begged. 

“Let’s not Chloé.” Luka smiled. 

Damian walked over to Marinette while Chloé and Luka bickered. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Marinette squeaked. 

“Really, because your face is pretty red. Should I take you to the nurse?” Damian asked with a smirk. 

“Take her on a date!” Chloé yelled. 

“Chloé!” Marinette squeaked before burying her head in her hands. 

“Excuse me, my brother is calling. I’ll be back in a minute.” Damian excused himself from the room. 

“He’s cute.” Chloé smirked. 

“He’s got a dark aura around him.” Luka said cautiously. 

“But bad boys are cute.” Chloé shrugged. 

“He doesn’t seem like a bad boy. He seems more like a businessman.” Luka said. 

“Oh, I saw you two talking in the hallway. You seem like you enjoy his company.” Chloé smirked. 

“He’s nice to be around. It’s easy to talk to him.” Marinette shrugged. 

“Do you like him?” Chloé asked. 

“I haven’t known him well enough to like him. We spent months not talking, remember?” Marinette said sassily. 

“So he’s he?” Luka asked. 

“Yes Luka. Damian is my friend from Gotham that I didn’t talk to for a few months. I picked him up from the airport, and we talked about it. We’re good for now.” Marinette said. 

“I hope so. I think you two balance each other out.” Luka smiled. 

“Of course you do babe.” Kagami smiled from her side of the phone. 

“Stop being gushy you two.” Chloé whined. 

“So how did you two meet?” Kagami asked. 

“I did a commission for him. When he found out I lived in Paris he asked if I could give him a tour around the city because he wanted to come here for school. So we started texting and boom, here we are.” Marinette smiled. 

“That’s great Marinette.” Luka smiled. 

“Marinette, Grayson would like to speak to you.” Damian said as he offered Marinette his phone. 

“Hey Dick! Yeah I’m good. Yes. Okay! I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.” Marinette smiled and handed Damian back the phone. “Dick says I’m his favorite.” Marinette said with a big smile. 

“Probably because you reminded him of his daughter.” Damian shrugged. 

“What’s her name?” Marinette asked. 

“Mar’i. She’s similar to you in the sense of happiness, and constant smiling. However there are a lot of differences as well. How much longer till our last few classes?” Damian asked. 

“A few minutes. We should probably start walking to our classes though. See you later guys.” Luka smiled before walking out of the room. 

“I’ll meet you in Ms. Mendeleiev’s class Maribug.” Chloé smirked before leaving the room. 

“Okay, so how much longer are we going to be friends? You’re here for a month then you’re back in Gotham. How are we going to pretend to be a couple via long distance?” Marinette asked seriously. 

“How about next week. Maybe we should call once a week, like on a Friday night for you, Saturday morning for me.” Damian offered. 

“Sure! You can call me after you're up. I usually stay up late working on projects.” Marinette smiled. 

“I’ll see you after school Marinette.” Damian left the room. 

Marinette smiled as she walked to her next class, and for the rest of the day. She waited for Damian at the top of the entrance staircase. 

“Maribitch! Why did you take Lila’s designs? She worked for weeks making her dress for her next photo shoot, and you ruined it!” Alya yelled at Marinette as she cornered her against the wall. 

Marinette tried to walk away. “I didn’t do anything to Lila! I didn’t even know she liked designing until now, when you said so!” 

“Don’t lie to me Marinette!” Alya growled. 

“Hey! Leave Marinette alone.” Damian said as he pulled Marinette away from Alya. 

“Who are you?” Alya growled. 

“Damian.” Damian stated before gently pulling Marinette away from Alya. 

The two were on the stairs when Marinette ‘tripped’, and started to fall forward. Luckily Damian wrapped his arms around her middle, and carefully helped her stand back up. 

“Thanks Damian.” Marinette smiled. 

Damian nodded, and the two continued to walk towards the bakery. Once inside Marinette brought Damian up to her room. 

The walls were a light pink, and she had some fabrics hanging on different parts of the walls so they wouldn’t wrinkle. There were a few photos with friends and family, one picture of her and her class before Lila came to the school. 

“Okay, we need to work on homework. Did you get any?” Marinette asked. 

“Finished it during class.” Damian shrugged. 

“Oh okay. I should only take a half hour or so, if you want to call Dick and tell him how things are going you can.” Marinette smiled. 

“It’s fine. I’m going to work on some Robin business for when I get back.” Damian said and pulled out his laptop. 

After an hour Marinette was done with her work. Damian put down his laptop when he heard a small thud. 

“Are you okay Marinette?” Damian asked as he saw Marinette laying on the floor. 

“Perfectly fine.” Marinette grunted. 

“How did you go from your chair to the floor?” Damian asked. 

“I dropped my pencil.”

“And did your body drop with it?” Damian sassed. 

“No. I fell off my chair trying to pick it up.” Marinette stuck out her tongue. 

“Okay. Luka said you were a klutz.” Damian teased. 

“You and Luka talked about me?” Marinette asked. 

“He told me about you, Chloé, and Kagami. If I could I would be calling them by their last names.” Damian shrugged. 

“You don’t call me by my last name.” Marinette teased. 

“That’s because I didn’t know your last name when we first met.” Damian stated. 

“Why do you call people by their last names?” Marinette asked. 

“Because it’s formal. I’ve only called Kent by his first name once and that was because I was drugged up on painkillers.” Damian said. 

“Who’s Kent?” Marinette asked. 

Damian’s phone started to ring. “Hello Kent.” 

“Damian! I miss my best friend. I’m about to fly over to you I can be there in less then twenty minutes. I’m at school now but I’m sure I could take a sick day.” Marinette could hear the boy on the other end say. 

“Kent, I’m with Marinette. I’m sure she just heard you after you screamed into the phone. Would you like to explain that to your mother, or should I?” Damian asked. 

“Hello.” Marinette said into the phone before Damian could stop her. 

“Hey Marinette! Dick told me about you!” 

“Why don’t you put your phone on speaker Damian?” Marinette smiled. “I want to meet this Kent.” Marinette teased. 

Damian rolled his eyes and put his phone on speaker. 

“First thing, what is your first name? Unlike Damian, I like to call people by their first names.” Marinette teased. 

“Jon Kent. I am Damian's best friend.” Jon said proudly. 

“Debatable.” Damian mumbled. 

“Damian! Be nice!” Marinette said, and wacked Damian’s arm. 

“Just because you say to be nice doesn’t mean I’ll be nice, Marinette.” Damian said. 

“You better be nice. I’m letting you work this mission at your own pace.” Marinette sasses. 

“Yeah okay.” Damian rolled his eyes. 

“Be nice to the lady Damian. So far the only people I know who you let hit you is Dick, Cass, and Alfred.” Jon teased. 

“I will skin you Kent.” Damian growled. 

“No violence!” Marinette said, and wacked Damian’s arm again. 

“Dude! That’s twice in a row!” Jon laughed. 

“Technically that's the third time today. Be nice.” Marinette scolded. 

Damian rolled his eyes. 

The three ended up on the phone for the next few hours before Damian had to leave. 

“Bye Damian.” Marinette smiled before closing the door, and walking back to her room. 

“I think you like him.” Tikki teased. 

“I think I’m going to hide your cookies.” Marinette smiled. 

“I surrender!” Tikki laughed. 

“Adrien, Marinette came to me with this. She wanted to give it to you herself but that new boy she’s been talking to has been taking up so much of her time.” With that Lila handed Adrien a folded sheet of paper and walked away.


	5. Dangerous Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen after Lila gives Adrien the folded sheet of paper?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late updates! I’ve been writing this for the last few months but haven’t had time to update. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> If any of you would like to add some feedback in the comments that would be really appreciated.
> 
> ALSO  
> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

Dear Adrien,  
I know the last few days have been rather hectic. I would like you to know that I truly am quite sorry. I’ve been hiding my true feelings for so long, and I realize now that it was a mistake. I truly do love you, and I wish for you to understand how fully I love you.  
I’ll see you at school tomorrow.  
-Love, Marinette

Adrien was so happy as he read the letter. “I knew my princess loved me.”

Marinette was packing up her stuff from her locker when Adrien leaned against the locker besides her. “What do you want Agreste?” 

As soon as Marinette looked towards Adrien he was forcing himself upon her. Adrien kissed Marinette roughly as she tries to push him off. Marinette tried to wiggle her way out of Adrien’s grip on her wrist, and the back of her neck was too strong. His one hand remained on her neck while the other began to roam around her body. Roughly squeezing, pinching or stroking any curve on her small form while grinding himself against Marinette. Using one hand he started to slip his hand up Marinette’s blouse tugging at the clip of Marinette’s bra. 

Marinette had just barely managed to remove her lips from Adrien’s when she started to scream. Adrien immediately moved his lips back onto hers. 

“Marinette!” Damian yelled as he rushed into the room, and pushed Adrien off of Marinette. 

“What are you doing?!” Adrien growled. 

“I’m keeping you away for Marinette.” Damian spat as he pinned Adrien to the floor until Marinette was out of the room, and got off of the blond. 

“What do you mean you're keeping me away from her?!” Adrien yelled. 

“I’m not going to let you hurt Marinette.” Damian said with venom. 

“You can’t keep me away from her Damian.” Adrien stated. 

“I will make sure you stay away from her. Unless you want to be locked up in your house for the rest of your father’s days you will stay away from her. When the restraining order I file on you is done, you will never go near her again.” Damian promised before walking out of the room. 

“With what evidence?” Adrien yelled after Damian. 

“All of the evidence Chloé and Luka have been gathering, Marinette’s claims along with Chloé’s, Luka’s, Kagami’s, and mine.” Damian said harshly before walking out of the school, and quickly making his way to the bakery which was busy as always. “Mr. Dupain, may I see Marinette?” Damian asked as he walked into the bakery. 

“I don’t know if she’s home but you can head up into the apartment. The door’s back there. First door in the stairway.” Tom said as he pointed to the back door. 

Damian thanked him before quickly going up the stairs. Damian looked around the apartment and saw that Marinette’s trap door was opened. “Marinette? It’s Damian, can I come up?” Damian asked softly. 

There was some movement before Tikki flew to the door, and motioned for him to follow. Damian quickly made his way up the steps before closing the trapdoor. Once he looked around the room he found Marinette hidden under her blankets in the corner of her bed. 

“Marinette, I’m coming up.” Damian said softly. Slowly Damian climbed up her bed, and sat next to Marinette. “Marinette, it’s Damian, can I move closer?” 

Marinette nodded softly, and Damian moved closer to her small form. Slowly Damian opened his arms to let Marinette curl against his chest as she cried. 

“Marinette I am so sorry. This should have never happened to you. He will never harm you again.” Damian said softly as he placed his arms softly around Marinette form to bring her closer. 

“Why?” Marinette choked out softly before an onslaught of tears fell from her eyes. 

“I don’t know Angel, I don’t know.” Damian said sadly. 

Hawk Moth seemed to have taken a break that day because neither Marinette nor Damian were akumatized. Marinette had fallen asleep over an hour ago. 

“Tikki, that boy is dangerous. Does he have a miraculous? Something he can use to get to Marinette?” Damian asked, Tikki refused to meet his eyes. “He’s Chat Noir isn’t he?” 

“I’m so sorry.” Tikki cried. “We never thought that he would get so obsessed that he would hurt Marinette.”

“Who’s we?” Damian asked. 

“Me and Plagg. We knew about how ‘in love’ Adrien thought they were. He never acted like this with Ladybug, he just flirted with her, and would make small advances. We never thought he could do something like this.” Tikki cried. 

“It’s not your fault Tikki. Don’t blame yourself.” Damian said softly as he brought the Kwami closer to him and her chosen. “Neither of us blame you. I’m sure Plagg is not to blame either. Is there any way you can communicate with Plagg so we can figure out a way to get the ring away from him?” Damian asked. 

“I can try.” Tikki nodded before flying out of the room. 

Marinette started to thrash around, and whimper softly. 

“Angel, you’re safe. It’s Damian.” Damian said softly as he tried to wake Marinette. “Marinette you’re safe. I’m here with you.”

“Damian!” Marinette cried out while still sleeping. 

“I’m here Marinette. Angel, it’s Damian. Wake up Marinette.” Damian said as he shook Marinette softly. 

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. “Damian?” Marinette asked weakly. 

“I’m here Angel.” Damian said softly. 

“My, my parents. Do they know?” Marinette asked softly. 

“No, I haven’t told them anything. I was planning on telling them in a few minutes once Tikki got back.” Damian said softly. 

“Where’s Tikki?” Marinette asked. 

“She’s trying to talk to Plagg. Marinette, there’s something you need to know.” Damian said sadly. 

“Don’t tell me.” Marinette shook her head. 

“Marinette, I have to. It’s for your own protection.” Damian said. 

“Adrien’s Chat, isn’t he.” Marinette cried weakly. 

“I’m sorry Marinette. Tikki’s trying to find a way to get his miraculous.” Damian said softly. 

“I’m scared Damian. What if he comes back?” Marinette asked sadly. 

Tikki flew into the room with a sad and worried look on her face. “I couldn’t find Plagg or Adrien. They weren’t in his room.” Tikki shook her head. 

“Damian, what if he’s transformed? You wouldn’t be able to stop him.” Marinette said worriedly. 

“I was raised by assassins. I think I can protect myself. Is there somewhere you can hide?” Damian asked softly. 

“The bakery has a small storage room.” Marinette thought. 

“Go hide there. I’ll stay here for a bit and see if he comes in.” Damian said softly. 

“Damian,”

“I’ll be fine Angel.” Damian said softly. 

Marinette quickly hid in the storage closet while Damian stayed in her room. Tikki flew out to try to find Chat Noir or Adrien. After an hour of nothing she came back to her room, and went to check on Damian. 

“Stay away from Marinette.” Damian growled as he stood in front of the skylight. 

“Who do you think you are to keep me away from my purrincess?” Chat asked. 

“Someone who truly cares for her wellbeing. She was up for hours crying in fear because someone assaulted her. I won’t let you anywhere near her.” Damian spat. 

“How do I know you weren’t the one to harass her?” Chat Noir purred. 

“Because I’m here, comforting, and protecting her from the pathetic blonds who think they can have their way with Marinette.” Damian said viciously. 

“How’s so?” 

“Chat Noir! That is enough!” Ladybug said sternly as she flew onto the rooftop. 

“M’lady, what are you doing here?” Chat purred. 

“I’m here to keep the peace. Leave now Chat, there’s no akumas tonight. Get some sleep.” Ladybug said. 

Chat left, and Marinette dropped her transformation once in the safety of her room. 

“We have to take the ring back tonight.” Marinette said as she shrunk into herself. 

“I’m sorry Marinette.” Tikki said softly. 

“It would be best if Tikki went alone. There’s less of a chance of someone getting caught.” Damian stated. 

“I agree. You’re in no position to go back out tonight Marinette.” Tikki said softly. 

“Get some rest Marinette. I’ll be back in the morning.” Damian said softly. 

“Stay, please.” Marinette said weakly. 

“Okay.” Damian nodded. 

The two teens cuddled together against the wall of Marinette’s bed. After a few hours Tikki flew out to the Agreste mansion. Adrien was fast asleep while Plagg flew around quietly. 

“Plagg.” Tikki whispered as she flew into the room. 

“Hey sugarcube.” Plagg said sadly. 

“I’m sorry Plagg. But he’s much too dangerous. Do you know where the box is?” Tikki asked sadly. 

“The ring is already in the box. I was just about to leave.” Plagg said sadly. 

“I’ll bring you to the guardian.” Tikki said softly before flying through the open window. 

Plagg followed the ladybug Kwami to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. “So the baker’s daughter is the spotted heroine.” Plagg mused. 

“The best by far.” Tikki smiled softly. 

“The strongest, and kindest. You should be proud.” Plagg nodded. 

“Immensely.” Tikki smiled before flying into Marinette’s room. 

The next morning Marinette woke up feeling warm. She looked up and saw Damian at his phone. 

“Morning.” Damian said softly. 

“D-Damian! Gah! I’m so sorry!” Marinette tried to push herself off of Damian but slipped, and fell back onto his chest. 

“Angel, it’s okay. Chloé texted the group chat you made with all of us. She wants to come over with everyone else. I wanted to tell you when you woke up. How are you feeling?” Damian asked softly. 

“I’m worried. What if Tikki didn’t get Plagg?” Marinette asked softly. 

“Well then this would all be super confusing.” Plagg chuckled. 

“Plagg! Tikki! You did it!” Marinette smiled. 

“Actually Plagg was about to leave when I got there. I just had to lead him here.” Tikki smiled at the cat softly. 

“Next we just have to get Nooroo, and Duusu.” Plagg shrugged. “Ya got cheese kid?” 

“Umm, there might be some in the bakery. Don’t take too much, my parents might get suspicious. You can get some cookies too Tikki.” Marinette smiled at the Kwamis. “Do you think Adrien will get akumatized?” 

“I think you need to worry about yourself. Your friends want to come over for a bit. I’ll let you four have your fun for today.” Damian said with a soft smile. 

“Damian, are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Marinette asked. 

“I think you need to spend some much needed time with your best friends.” Damian said. 

“If you need to, come over.” Marinette smiled. 

“Thank you.” Damian said softly before leaving. 

“The bitch did what?!” Chloé yelled. 

“I told you, he tried to take advantage of me. But there’s something else guys.” Marinette said sadly. 

“What happened Marinette?” Luka asked calmly. 

“Adrien was Chat Noir.” Marinette said softly. “He tried to come back as Chat later that night. Damian had stayed with me since the incident. Tikki, with the help of Plagg, got the ring. I need to visit him as Ladybug to officially renounce his powers of the Cat. I’ll be back in less than an hour.” Marinette said before standing up and transforming into Ladybug. 

Ladybug landed on Adrien’s window, knocked and walked in. Adrien was running around his room trying to find the ring. 

“Adrien Agreste.” Ladybug said sternly. 

“Ladybug?” Adrien asked in surprise, and stopped running around his room. 

Ladybug took a step closer to the window. “I Ladybug, Guardian of the Miraculous, renounce your claim as Chat Noir. You have abused your power both with, and without your ring. Your miraculous will not be returned to you as you are unfit for its power.”

“M’lady, you can't do this to me. I’ve fought beside you for years. Protected you!” Adrien argued. 

“No, you have harassed me for years. Some battles were better than others. After the last few months you have ignored your duties as the black cat, and put this city, and it’s heroes in danger.” Ladybug said coldly. 

“But.”

“No, it was one thing when you harassed me Chat Noir but it was another when you did it to a civilian. I understand that your life may not be as good as others but you had a mother who taught you how to be a decent human being. I thought you would have at least honored her memory, and be kind to others.” Ladybug said before swinging out the window, and into the Paris sky. 

Marinette’s transformation dropped as she was landing on her roof. “Guys, I’m back.” 

“Maribug, how did it go?” Chloé asked sadly. 

“Now we just have to wait and see.” Marinette sighed. 

“We called Damian, and he told us basically everything.” Kagami said, clearly upset by the situation. 

“Guys I know you might be mad that he knows about everything but he knew before I knew about it. Everything is really complicated with Damian. I’m sorry.” Marinette said weakly. 

“Oh Marinette. We’re not angry about Damian. We’re angry that you didn’t tell us that Agreste assaulted you. You said he just made an advance, what he did was harassment.” Chloé said sadly. 

“I didn’t want you guys to look at me the way you are. With sadness, and pain.” Marinette choked. 

“Marinette, we’re going to nail his ass so hard.” Kagami growled.

“Until then can we just hang out like regular teens?” Marinette asked.

“Sure Ma-ma-Marinette.” Luka said with a soft smile.

Marinette stuck her tongue out at the taller teen and flopped onto her bed.

After a few hours of movies, and snacks Marinette drove over to Damian’s. 

“Hey Marinette, what’s up?” Damian asked as he opened the door. 

“I wanted to thank you again for yesterday, and last night.” Marinette said with a soft smile. 

“It’s fine. If something happened to you our situation would get a whole lot more complicated.” Damian stated. 

“Well ya, but you didn’t have to help me or stay with me last night.” Marinette’s blush grew. 

“Marinette, like it or not you and I are stuck together if something happened to you that would affect my mother’s plan, she would probably destroy the Order, and your friends.” Damian stated. 

“Yes but there’s a difference between just protecting me from some guy, and you staying to make sure that I’m okay afterwards. I’m not going to put words in your mouth, but I will tell you that I’m glad to think of you as a friend. This might work after all.” Marinette smiled before walking away.

“I think so too. I’ll see you soon, Angel.”

Marinette stopped for a moment before turning around to wave at Damian then rushed out of the building and into her car. “Not a word Tikki.”

Tikki just giggled before flying to sit on her chosens shoulder while she drove around the city till dark. Marinette quickly ate dinner before going up to her room to get some sleep.

On Monday Marinette walked into school and quickly made her way past her classmates, and to her desk. 

“Hey Maribug, Luka and I are going to the park again for lunch. You and Damian can come if you want.” Chloé smiled at her friend.

“That sounds great Chlo, I’ll ask Damian.” Marinette smiled up at her friend.

“So you went to see Damian after our movie marathon?” Chloé teased.

“I went to thank him for what he did for me. He stayed with me until an hour before you all came over. When he came back Damian held him off until LB stepped in.” Marinette said with a sad smile.

“There is nothing that will stop me from serving his ass to the judge.” Chloé sneered.

“I know, I just need some time before we do stuff like that.” Marinette said softly.

“I know. Let's get ready before class starts.” Chloé said with a reassuring smile as she pulled out her books.

Just as the school was dismissing for lunch there was an akuma. The akuma alerts were going crazy. Mr. Pigeon was back, and the pigeons were attacking the mayor's office, again. Marinette sighed before quickly transforming.

“Mr. Pigeon, it’s Ladybug, let me help you!” Ladybug called out as she landed on the roof of the mayor’s office.

“You can’t help me ladybug! Give me your miraculous!” Mr. Pigeon yelled before attacking.

The battle lasted twenty minutes. Poor Mr. Ramier just wanted to talk to the mayor about the bird reserve that was behind schedule.

“I’ll talk to Mayor Bourgeois about the reserve later tonight. I’ll swing by to let you know what the plan is tomorrow once schools have let out. Goodbye Mr. Ramier.” Ladybug said with a soft smile.

“Goodbye Ladybug, thank you.” Mr. Ramier said with a sad smile.

Ladybug flew off, and landed a block away from Damian’s apartment building before transforming back. With a shrug Marinette made her way towards Damian’s.

“Hey Damian.” Marinette said softly.

“Hey Marinette, I heard that school was canceled for the rest of the day due to the attack?” Damian asked as he let Marinette into the apartment.

“Yeah, that happens all around Paris. After a few months, the city decided that it was better for students to go home after an attack, and work out their nerves and all at home instead of being at school.”Marinette shrugged.

“That’s understandable, if a school in Gotham was near an attack it might close early for the day once the villain is taken care of. Hey Marinette, it’s the second week of school here should we start out the second phase of our plan?” Damian asked awkwardly.

“You mean like, the fake dating?” Marinette blushed.

“That was the second phase of our plan.” Damian shrugged.

“Okay, umm sure. But remember we need to discuss boundaries.” Marinette stated.

“Okay, how about we right a list down, and discuss it?” Damian asked.

“Okay!” Marinette smiled. 

Damian pulled out a sheet of paper and the two began writing down what they thought. 

Phase 2  
Ground rules:  
Kissing on the cheek or hand nothing else unless okay with both parties.  
Hugs are allowed  
No surprise attacks or hugs from behind unless presence is known

At school:  
Kissing on the cheek or hand nothing else.  
Hugs are allowed  
No surprise attacks or hugs from behind unless presence is known

(With friends) Outside in public:  
Hand holding 

At the bakery:  
Cuddling  
Teasing

“I think we have a pretty good list.” Marinette smiled, Damian nodded at their work. 

“So we have three rules that are our ground rules. Fair warning, I can be very jumpy when I’m in a mood.” Marinette warned. 

“I’ll try my best not not to spook you too badly.” Damian teased. 

“If you scare me I can’t promise I can control myself.” Marinette began to laugh. 

“I have fast reflexes.” Damian shrugged. 

“Surely.” Marinette rolled her eyes, and jabbed Damian’s side. “I thought you have fast reflexes.”

“Poking me with your finger doesn’t put me in danger.” Damian shrugged. 

“Are you ticklish?” Marinette smirked. 

“No.”

“What?!” Marinette gasped. 

“I’m not ticklish. Why, are you?” Damian asked. 

“You sir are the first person I have met who is not ticklish.” Marinette said as she tried to tickle Damian’s side but got no reaction. “How?”

“Training with assassins from birth.” Damian shrugged. 

“Totally uncool.” Marinette huffed. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Damian smirked. 

“What question?” Marinette asked as she wrapped her hands around her sides. 

“I asked you if you were ticklish, you didn’t answer my question.” Damian said, he’s smirk never leaving his features. 

“Don’t.”

“Marinette, answer the question.” Damian said as he moved closer to Marinette. 

“Damian, please don’t do this.” Marinette said as she tried to back away. 

“Answer the question Marinette.” Damian said as he cornered Marinette. 

“Damian, please.” Marinette giggled. 

“Why won’t you answer the question?” Damian quirked an eyebrow. 

“Because I don’t wanna.” Marinette shook her head. 

“Okay.” Damian shrugged before carefully tickling Marinette’s sides. 

The bluenette burst into a fit of laughter, and tried to move out of the way. In her attempt at escape Marinette tripped, and fell into Damian bringing the two teens down. Damian twisted so that he would get the majority of the impact, not wanting to crush Marinette. 

“You okay?” Damian asked. 

“I’m the one that fell on you, are you okay?” Marinette asked as she stood up. 

“I’m fine. You’re the one that tripped.” Damian pointed out. 

“Because you were tickling me.” Marinette shot back. 

“You wouldn’t answer my question, so I sought out answers for myself.” Damian shrugged. 

“Jerk.” Marinette huffed. 

“Whatever Angel.” Damian rolled his eyes. 

“I need a nickname for you.” Marinette mumbled. 

“What?” Damian asked. 

“Nothing!” Marinette jumped. 

Damian’s phone started to ring. “Grayson, what do you need?”

“Hey Damian. Just wanted to check in on you. How’s everything going?” Dick asked. 

“Everything is going fine. We got Chat Noir’s ring, so far we haven’t found a replacement for him yet, but we just got the ring a few days ago. There was a minor akuma but nothing too serious. What’s happening in Gotham?” Damian asked. 

“Joker got out again, a few petty crimes in Crime Alley.” Dick said. 

“Have you caught the Joker yet?” Damian asked. 

“Not yet, he hasn’t done anything. Babs is still running some footage of the breakout. Kori and Mar’i are coming in a month for Christmas. What if we invited Marinette to meet the family during the holidays if she wants, and it’s okay with her parents?” Dick asked. 

“I’ll check with my parents once you check with yours!” Marinette yelled from the kitchen. 

“Why are you in the kitchen?” Damian asked. 

“Because you have no food! I brought some stuff over earlier, I’m putting it on the counter.” Marinette smiled as she walked into the room. “Hey Dick!”

“Hey Marinette, you heard all that?” Dick asked. 

“Sure did, Damian put you on speaker.” Marinette smiled. 

“Okay, well if you would like we can buy you a ticket to Gotham if you’re parents are okay with you coming.” Dick said. 

“Thanks Dick. I’ll ask my parents tonight, and don’t worry about buying a ticket.” Marinette said happily. 

“Alright, I’ve got to go. Duty calls. See ya later Little D. bye Marinette.” Dick said before hanging up. 

“Your brother is nice.” Marinette smiled. 

“The only one that isn’t a total pain. Dick and I are probably the closest out of the kids.” Damian smiled softly. 

“How much older is he than you?” Marinette asked. 

“He’s about fifteen years older than me.” Damian thought. 

“Wow, what about your other siblings?” Marinette asked. 

“Todd’s ten years older, Cain is nine years older, Brown is eight years older, Drake is seven years older. Cain and Brown are my two sisters.” Damian stated. 

“You have sisters too?!”

“Yes. They’re not around a lot.” Damian shrugged. 

“It must be nice to have siblings to look out for you.” Marinette smiled. 

“No.” 

“You’re smiling Damian.” Marinette teased. 

“My siblings are not fun to be around. They are all a bunch of heathens.” Damian said. 

“Ya okay.” Marinette chuckled. 

“They are. Just wait till you meet them.” Damian grumbled. 

“So I get to meet the family? Isn’t it a bit late for that Damian?” Marinette teased. 

“You met my mother’s side, now you’re meeting my father’s side. You can say they’re the friendlier side of the family.” Damian shrugged. 

“Meet the mom, get married, meet the dad, now we’re friends. Our relationship is going a tad bit out of order, don't cha think?” Marinette giggled. 

“To be fair, my family was never normal, and you are the most normal girl I know. In a good way.” Damian teased. 

“Did you just give me a compliment? Wow, the world must be ending.” Marinette said dramatically. 

“I thought that’s what you do as a couple?” Damian said as he poked Marinette’s side. 

“No! No tickling.” Marinette giggled as she scooted away from Damian. 

“I poked your side.” Damian said sarcastically. 

“No.”

“You’re over exaggerating.” Damian sighed. 

“You’re a dangerous man Damian Wayne.” Marinette faked a glare. 

“That I am.” Damian smiled triumphantly.


	6. Her New Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the beloved uncle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

“Maman, papa? I was with Damian this afternoon when his brother Dick called. Dick wanted to know if I could come to Gotham for Christmas break? I’ve known him for a year now, and I trust him. Damian has been here multiple times, and he’s already one of my bestest friends. Can I go? Please?” Marinette begged. 

“Your mother and I will discuss it, and get back to you. Gotham is quite far for your first time out of the country.” Tom said softly. 

“Technically, I went to space with my class a year and a half ago.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Did you say something dear?” Sabine asked. 

“No ma’am.” Marinette smiled. 

Marinette finished dinner, and went to work on her latest design while her parents talked about her going to Gotham. 

“Marinette, can you come here please?” Sabine called. 

“Coming!” Marinette said as she rushed down the stairs. “Yes?”

“How do you feel about going to Gotham?” Tom asked. 

“I feel like it would be nice to get out of the city during vacation. Uncle Jagged is in New York, and we haven’t seen him and Peggy for a few months, and I would like to get to know Damian’s family.” Marinette stated. 

“Would you be okay with going on your own?” Tom asked. 

Marinette thought for a minute. “Yes.”

“Okay, you can go.” Sabine nodded. 

“Thank you!” Marinette cheered, and hugged her parents happily. 

“Of course sweetie. We can talk to Jagged later tomorrow to see if you can stay at his place.” Sabine smiled at her daughter. 

Marinette went to bed early that night with a smile on her face. “I might be going to Gotham!” 

“Damian!” Marinette yelled as she met with her friends, and Damian at the park for lunch. “My parents said I can go!” Marinette smiled as she ran, and gave Damian a hug, which he willingly accepted. 

“That’s great Marinette.” Damian said with a soft smile. 

“Wait what’s happening?” Chloé asked. 

“Damian’s brother Dick invited me over to visit Gotham during winter break. I’m staying here in Paris for Christmas but I’m flying out the next day, and staying for a week before coming back to Paris.” Marinette cheered. 

“That’s amazing Marinette, congrats. You need a vacation.” Luka said with a calming smile. 

“What are you guys planning on doing for winter break?” Marinette asked. 

“Mother is having me stay the week before Christmas in the US with her, and I’ll be here for Christmas, and New Years.” Chloé shrugged. 

“Same as always with Kagami hopefully joining us.” Luka shrugged. 

“I’m joining Luka in his Christmas traditions.” Kagami smiled. 

“Damian, what day are you flying back?” Chloé asked. 

“I’m flying back next Friday, so the twenty third.” Damian stated. 

“Okay, well seeing as it’s fall why don’t we all go out after school this Friday to celebrate?” Chloé offered. 

“That sounds great!” Marinette beamed. 

“I’m okay with that.” Luka smiled. 

Kagami texted her mom. “Mother says that fine.”

“Sure.” Damian shrugged. 

The rest of the day Marinette was smiling. “I’m going to Gotham! This is going to be great!”

Surprisingly Lila didn’t cause any trouble neither did any of her sheep. Chloé was a bit unsettled but seeing Marinette happy about going to Gotham was enough for her to put the matter aside. 

Ridiculous, Utterly Ridiculous  
Queenie: Has anyone seen anything from Liar and her sheep? Maribug’s happy and they’re quiet. Even the witch. 

Snek: I haven’t seen anything suspicious besides them not attacking Mari yet for being happy

Damian: I haven’t noticed anything either. 

Queenie: Alright, let’s keep tabs on this. Marinette seems really happy today and it’s good to see her smiling like this for a change. 

Chloé put her phone back into her pocket, and started on her classwork.

“Hey Chlo, guess what?” Marinette said with a happy smile.

“What Maribug?” Chloé asked.

“Uncle Jagged is coming into town, wanna surprise him?” Marinette smirked.

“Definitely. What do you have in mind?” Chloé asked with a devious grin.

“Chlo, you ready?” Marinette giggled softly.

“Ready as always bug.” Chloé grineed.

“Good, lets get him.” Marinette smiled before walking out of the room and into the family.

Chloé and Marinette walked into the family room wearing XY merch Chloé had bought a few years ago. Giggling the girls walked through the family room, and greeted Jagged.

“Hey Uncle J! When did you get here?” Marinette asked with a smile.

“Just a few minutes ago. Whatcha wearin Mari?” Jagged asked with a gritted smile.

“Oh this old thing? I found it in my closet. Truthfully I didn’t even remember buying it.” Marinette shrugged.

After a few seconds the girls started giggling before they took off the XY shirts to reveal the latest Jagged Stone t-shirts Marinette had designed for Jagged’s new album. The rest of the family started laughing, even Jagged smiled before hugging his niece.

“Very funny kid. Your parents tell me you have a new boyfriend.” Jagged teased.

“His name’s Damian!” Chloé teased.

“Chloé not helping!” Marinette blushed.

“So, this Damian kid, when am I meeting him?” Jagged asked.

“No, not happening. I'm going to the park. Come on Chlo.” Marinette said as she noped out of the apartment.

“Mari, wait up!” Chloé laughed.

Marinette gave Chloé the silent treatment as they sat at the park, and waited for their friends.

“What did you do?” Luka asked Chloé as he and Kagami sat down.

“Jagged’s in town, her parents told him about Damian, Jagged asked about her new boyfriends, I gave him the name.” Chloé smiled.

“I swear I will take Pollen from you for a month if you don’t shush it.” Marinette threatened.

“I thought threatening people was my job?” Damian asked as he walked up to the group.

“Speak of the devil.” Marinette grumbled.

“Marinette, be nice.” Kagami scolded, Marinette rolled her eyes and layed down on the grass.

“Hey Damian, Marinette’s Uncle is in town. He can’t wait to meet you.” Chloe smirked.

“Is he Uncle Jagged or Uncle Fu?” Damian asked.

“Jagged.” The Parisians said.

“Oh great. I’ll be able to tell Tim that I met Jagged Stone before he did.” Damian shrugged.

“Really?” Marinette deadpanned.

“Really.” Damian said, almost like he was challenging Marinette. The two stared at each other, neither backing down. 

“The sextual tension is killing me!” Chloé laughed. 

“Chloé!” Marinette yelled before hiding her face. 

Luka and Kagami laughed while Chloé looked at the blushing teen triumphantly. 

“Two strikes Bourgeois one more and you’re out.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Maribug, you’re blushing because I’m right.” Chloé smiled, Marinette flopped back onto the grass with a hmph. 

The rest of the afternoon the teens talked about school, and what their plan was for Friday. They decided to go to the fair shortly after school let out, and stay until around dinner.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Marinette smiled as she got up.

“I’ll walk you home.” Damian said as he got up and said his goodbyes.

“Thanks Dami.” Marinette smiled.

“Dami?” Damian quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, you call me Angel, and I doubt you want me to call you Demon Spawn.” Marinette teased.

“That is true.” Damian shrugged.

“Hey, are you okay with going to the fair with everyone? I know that you're not a really big people person, and I just want you to be comfortable” Marinette started to ramble.

“Marinette,” Damian gently grabbed Marinette’s hands. “If I didn’t want to go then I wouldn’t be going.”

Marinette smiled at Damian softly before her face darkened as she heard Lila’s laughter. Damian, noticing the shift, looked around, and noticed Lila walking down the street.

“Marinette, who’s this? We didn’t really have a proper introduction.” Lila said sweetly as she noticed the two. 

“Her boyfriend.” Damian said coldly.

“What’s your name?” Lila smiled.

“My name is none of your business.” Damian said coldly before turning to Marinette and smiled softly. “Are you ready to go Angel?”

“Yep!” Marinette smiled before turning towards the direction of her home. Once they were a few streets away Marinette spoke back up. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

“Marinette, it’s my job to protect you.” Damian stated.

“I can protect myself perfectly fine thank you. I’ve been doing it for the last four years.” Marinette pointed out.

“Yes, but that won’t stop me from helping protect you.” Damian said. The two walked up to Marinette’s door. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Angel.”

“Bye Dami.” Marinette smiled before heading inside.

“Marinette, you’re home.” Sabine smiled as her daughter walked into the bakery. 

“Yep, just got back.” Marinette hugged her mother. 

“Jagged is coming for dinner. Maybe then we can discuss your trip to Gotham a little more.” Sabine said.

“Great! Let me know when he gets here, I’ve got some work to do.” Marinette smiled before running up the stairs and into her room. “Tikki, three days till Friday. How do you think Damian and I are doing by way of being in a fake relationship?” Marinette asked.

“I think you two are doing quite well Marinette.” TIkki smiled.”Have you found anyone to replace Chat Noir?”

“No, and right now I don’t think I will be replacing him yet. I think Ladybug can be on her own for a little bit, I’ve gone solo for a few months now with occasional help from the team but right now I think it's best if I work alone.” Marinette said softly.

“Sugarcube is right kid, you’re gonna need to find a person to be the black cat sooner or later. They’re going to be vital in the final fight.” Plagg stated.

“Thank you guys, but right now I’m not sure what to do. If all else fails Luka can be the cat, and we’ll be short by a snake.” Marinette chuckled.

“That would be a special combination.” Tikki giggled.

“He’s the chill one right?” Plagg asked.

“Yes Plagg, Luka is the wielder of the snake.” Marinette chuckled.

“K, I want cheese.” Plagg said.

“Marinette, Jagged’s here!” Tom called from the kitchen.

“Coming!” Marinette called. “We’re having dinner, if you two want to snag some snacks you can.” Marinette said softly before running to the kitchen.

“Marinette! My favorite niece!” Jagged smiled.

“Hey Uncle Jagged.” Marinette hugged the rock star.

“How’s my little rockstar?” Jagged asked.

“I’m doing great! How are you and Penny?” Marinette asked.

“We’re doing great.” Jagged smiled.

“Jagged, we would like to talk to you about Marinette’s trip to Gotham for winter break.” Tom said.

“Right, what about it?” Jagged asked.

“Would she be able to stay at your house in Gotham for the week?” Sabine asked.

“Of course she can. I’ll make sure that everything you need or want is there before you arrive.” Jagged smiled.

“Thank you Uncle Jagged!” Marinette smiled widely.

“Of course, just let me know when you’re coming. Sabine, Tom would you two be okay with her staying at the house by herself for those few days? Penny and I will be in California for a concert.” Jagged stated.

“I’m sure that will be fine. Thank you for letting us know.” Sabine smiled.

After dinner was over Jagged left, and the Dupain-Chengs went to bed.

“Should I tell Damian tonight?” Marinette asked. “Or should I tell him tomorrow?”

“Tell him tomorrow that way you can tell Dick too.” Tikki smiled.

“Great idea, thanks Tikki.” Marinette yawned as she climbed into bed. “Night Tikki, night Plagg.” 

“Dami! Call Dick!” Marinette smiled as she and Damian sat on the stairs of the school for lunch.

“Why?” Damian asked.

“Because I need to tell him something.” Marinette smiled.

“Should I be worried?” Damian asked as he pulled out his phone and called his brother.

“Nope. Hey Dick!” Marinette waved to the phone.

“Hey Marinette. What’s up?” Dick asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Damian mumbled.

“I’m going to Gotham after Christmas!” Marinette cheered.

“Wait really?” Dick and Damian asked.

“Yep!” Marinette smiled. 

“That’s great Marinette!” Dick smiled.

“I know right! You’re going to be stuck with me for a week Damian, how do you feel?” Marinette teasingly jabbed Damian’s arm.

“There’s a slim possibility of me mysteriously leaving the manor for a few days.” Damian entertained the idea. 

“Bull shit! You two are going to be inseparable.” Dick grinned. “By the way, the Kent family are going to be coming for B’s New Years party this year.” 

“This means I get to meet Jon.” Marinette smiled. 

“Great, now there’ll be two of them.” Damian grumbled. 

“Aw, don’t be like that Dami.” Marinette cooed as she wrapped her arms around Damian’s middle, and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“You and Jon will be the reason I leave the party early.” Damian stated blandly. “Goodbye Grayson.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, and Damian wrapped an arm around Marinette’s back. Marinette was a bit glad as she noticed that she was shivering slightly from the cold weather. 

“Excuse me Ms. Dupain-Cheng and Mr. Grayson. We do not permit PDA on school grounds.” Ms. Bustier said as she walked up to the teens. 

“Actually Ms. Bustier, it’s not stated in the rule book that helping a student under any circumstances was not permitted. Marinette was shivering because of the cold, and I did not bring a jacket with me so I’m allowing Marinette to be huddled next to me to keep her warm because the school doors were locked, and we could not get into a classroom.” Damian stated coldly. 

“The classrooms are now opened. You may both go to your class.” Ms. Bustier stated before quickly walking away, and passing Lila who was sitting in Adrien’s lap. 

“She’s on thin ice.” Damian grumbled. 

“Who, my teacher or the snickering liar?” Marinette sassed. 

“Both.” 

“I’ll see you after school okay?” Marinette smiled before pecking Damian’s cheek. 

“See you after school, Angel.” Damian said, and the two left for class, ignoring the glares sent their way by Adrien and Lila. 

“You kissed his cheek.” Chloe teased.

“You saw?!” Marinette asked quietly as she and Chloe walked into their class.

“Hun, of course I saw it.” Chloe winked. “I think he’s good for you.”

“Thanks Chlo, I just hope everything works out for the best.” Marinette smiled.

“Marinette!” Adrien called as Marinette walked out of the class, she froze on the spot. “Marinette, who the hell was that you were with this morning?” He asked angrily.

“That’s my boyfriend.” Marinette said nervously.

“He’s been here for like two weeks!” Adrien stated.

“I’ve known him for longer than that! I did a commision for him last year, he reached out saying that he wanted to study abroad here for his last year in high school, and asked if I could show him around! After that we started talking, and now he goes here. Last I checked you didn’t want to involve my love life into the equation in regards to your life because if I had a love life Lila would get upset, and Lila can never be anything less than happy. I’m not going to let my happiness be the price for Lila’s happiness. If you want Lila to be happy give her what she wants, but you will keep me out of the picture. Do you understand?” Marinette spat.

“Marinette, that’s not fair! If Lila isn’t happy then I might have to go back to being homeschooled! Is that what you want?” Adrien yelled.

“After what you did to me, yes! I don’t understand you, Adrien! You harass me daily, you literally forced yourself onto me, and now you’re blaming me! I couldn’t care less if you went back to being homeschooled because that would mean I wouldn’t have to deal with your shit, and being in constant fear that if I turn my back you’re going to take advantage of me again! You’re lucky I haven’t walked up to the courthouse, and charged you with harassment, and sextual assault Agreste!” Marinette yelled before storming out of the school.

Damian: Marinette, where did you go? I heard yelling in the courtyard and Agreste looked like he was going to be sick. What happened?

Snek: Mari, are you okay? Damian and I can’t find you.

Marinette pulled out her phone, and ignored the messages from the guys in favor for messaging the girls.

Blues and the Blonde  
Maribug: I’m going to Chloe’s, bring ice cream and popcorn please?

Gami: On our way Marinette

Queenie: Ya, we’ll tell the guys we got you for some girl time.

Ridiculous, Utterly Ridiculous  
Queenie: Gami and I got Maribug, we’re gonna have some girl time

Snek: Thanks Queenie

Damian: Thank you Chloe.

Kagami and Chloe ran to the store closest to the hotel, and got some ice cream, and popcorn before quickly making their way to Chloe’s room. When they opened the door Marinette was sketching furiously into her sketchbook.

“Maribug, we’re here with the ice cream and popcorn.” Chloe said softly.

“Great, can we watch the Avengers movies? Starting from the beginning with Captain America?” Marinette asked as she packed up her things.

“Sure but we’re only watching Captain America, and Iron Man then we’re studying.” Kagami stated.

“We don’t have any tests till next friday.” Chloe and Marinette pointed out.

“Pop quizzes happen on every third friday in your science class. Tomorrow is the third friday since the last pop quiz, you will both study.” Kagami stated.

“So that’s how Mendeleiev does it!” Chloe seethed.

“Chloe, you’ve had her for science for the last three years.” Kagami stated.

“Shush it Gami.” Chloe grumbled.

“Just start the movies.” Marinette sighed.

Once the girls watched the two movies, finished all of the snacks, and studied, Marinette and Kagami were on their way home.

“Marinette, are you and Damian dating?” Kagami asked. 

“Well umm, ya we are. Why do you ask?” Marinette thought. 

“Luka said something about you and Damian earlier when we were watching Iron Man.” Kagami said. 

“Ya, I kinda went off on Adrien earlier, and told him and anyone in the courtyard that Damian and I were dating.” Marinette chuckled. 

“Is that all?” Kagami asked, curious about what got her friend so upset. 

“I told him he’s lucky I haven’t charged his ass yet.” Marinette shrugged. 

“Good job Marinette.” Kagami praised. 

Marinette giggled. “Thank you.”

The two split ways at the bakery. Marinette headed up to her room to relax before she called Damian. 

“Hello?” Damian asked. 

“Hey Dami, Sorry about not answering your text earlier.” Marinette said as she climbed her way onto her balcony. 

“It’s fine Marinette, are you okay?” Damian asked. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ll probably need to file a restraining order by the end of the fall.” Marinette sighed. “But it’s okay! Once everything with Adrien is squared away then we can live our lives, and be a ‘couple’.” 

“You’re still sure you’re okay with all of this?”

“Damian, it’s not like we have much of a choice.” Marinette laughed half heartedly. “Besides, it’s for the good of both of our people.”

“Marinette, you know that our relationship is just for the public’s eye.” Damian said reassuringly, for some reason that seemed to make her heart ache. 

“Yep, just for the public’s eye.” Marinette said softly. “I should get going. I have a pop quiz tomorrow in science. I’ll see you at school.” Marinette quickly hung up the phone. 

“Marinette, you shouldn’t be so distant with him. What else does he know about you besides the fact that you’re kind, you like designing, and pink?” Tikki asked. 

“He knows everything about me Tikki. His father’s Batman.” Marinette grumbled. 

“And what do you know about him?” Tikki asked. 

“He’s Robin, his mother forced us to get married last year, he’s not a people person, he doesn’t want or feels like he needs approval from anyone besides his father and Dick, he’s kind in his own way, stubborn, loves animals, does care about doing the right thing, protects the people closest to him, he has no filter, and he’s become someone dear to me.” Marinette said with a soft smile. 

“What about his favorite color, favorite foods, does he have a favorite class? What makes Damian human? That’s what you need to know. What the small things about Damian that you should know are.” Tikki said, poking Marinette in the chest softly. 

“You’re right Tikki. I’ll talk with him tomorrow. Maybe we could get together during lunch. Oh, we could play twenty one questions! That’s a great way to get to know each other. Or maybe ask a few questions every day!” Marinette thought out loud. 

“That’s a great idea Marinette.” Tikki smiled. 

“Thank you for that Tikki. I’ll talk with him tomorrow.” Marinette smiled before climbing into bed and falling asleep shortly after.


	7. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The months leading up to Marinette’s trip, and the beginning of her arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

“Damian!” Marinette called as she ran across the road to the front of the school. 

Damian turned around. “Yes?”

“We should ask each other a few questions a day so we can get to know each other better. Like, what’s your favorite color?” Marinette asked with a smile as the two walked up the stairs into the school. 

“Black.” 

“See, then you would ask me a question. We could ask each other questions over texts when we’re alone, if something gets too personal we can just say so. If someone says that the topic isn’t something they’re comfortable sharing then ask another question.” Marinette explained. “What do you think?” Marinette asked as she finally looked up at Damian. 

“I think it would make us getting to know each other much easier.” Damian stated. 

“Okay, I asked one question, your turn.” Marinette’s smile never wavered. 

“Okay, what is your favorite pastime?” Damian asked. 

“Designing. What’s your favorite sweet?”

“I don’t like sweets.” Damian shrugged, Marinette simply nodded. “What’s yours?”

“Macaroons.” Marinette thought of her parents' bakery. 

“I’ll see you in class Marinette.” Damian said as he walked down the hall, and to his room. 

Marinette hadn’t even realized she was at her classroom door. Sighing she took the first step into class to find it relatively empty. Kim and Max were sitting at Kim’s desk talking while Chloé was in the back looking at her phone. 

“Hiya Chloé.” Marinette smiled as she sat at her desk. 

“Hey Maribug, I saw you walking into the school. What were you and Damian talking about? You seemed really invested in it, and Damian looked happy listening to you.” Chloé teased. 

“Oh, we were talking about our plan for when he’s away. Last time he left we didn’t talk, now we’re just trying to figure stuff out.” Marinette said. 

“Like what?” 

“Well, like the time difference. When would be a good time to call or text each other. Stuff like that.” Marinette smiled. 

“Well that’s nice. Are you ready for tonight?” Chloé asked. 

“Definitely, I made sure to lay out some extra jackets for us in my room.” Marinette stated, Chloé nodded. 

Ms. Bustier walked into the room. “Alright, settle down class, it's time to start our lesson. Everyone pull out your books to lesson ten.” 

After a boring English lesson, a science quiz, and a fun activity in math the school went to lunch. Marinette and Chloé walk out into the courtyard to meet Damian and Luka before walking over to the bakery. 

“Marinette, what is the plan for after the fair?” Luka asked. 

“You guys could come over tonight if you would like or we can all go home to our own places.” Marinette offered. 

“Marinette’s.” Chloé and Luka cheered. 

“Dami, do you want to come over tonight?” Marinette asked. 

“If it’s okay with your parents then I will come.” Damian stated with a soft smile that only Marinette noticed. 

“That’s fine with us Damian, you can come over whenever you would like.” Sabine smiled from the doorway, all of the teens, besides Damian, jumped at the sound of her voice. 

“Thank you Mrs. Cheng.” Damian nodded. 

“You can call me Sabine dear.” Sabine smiled. “Let me know when you all are coming, and Tom and I will have some hot drinks for you all ready in Marinette’s room when you get back.” Sabine said sweetly before walking out of the room. 

“Thanks mama Sabine!” Chloé called after her. 

“I’d tell you to back off my mother but I think she would have adopted you by now if she could.” Marinette giggled. 

“Your parents have taught me more in the last three years than my own parents in my whole life.” Chloé chuckled. 

“Alright, well let’s get going so we won’t be late for school.” Luka said as he stood up from the table. 

“Luka, Gami wanted me to remind you that you have an English test this afternoon.” Chloé giggled. 

“Thanks, but I’m afraid Damian beat her to it today.” Luka chuckled. 

“Thanks for helping our forgetful child.” Marinette smiled at Damian. 

“I’m not your child Ma Ma Marinette.” Luka teased. 

“You might as well be!” Chloé laughed. “The amount of times Marinette and I mother you is too many to count.” 

Damian walked to the door, and held it open for the group. Marinette walked through last, and grabbed Damian’s hand as they walked to the school. 

Once school was over, everyone dropped their stuff off in Marinette’s room, and got extra jackets from Marinette’s house. Kagami was already waiting for them at the bakery. Soon the group was off to the fair towards the edge of the city. 

The fair didn’t seem to have a lot of people there for a Friday night. The line was only a few minutes wait until they got their hands stamped, and were let into the fair. Luka, Kagami and Chloé all decided they wanted to separate from the group leaving Marinette and Damian alone for a while. 

“So, your friends left.” Damian said, pointing out the obvious. 

“Yes they did. What do you want to do?” Marinette asked. 

“What’s here?” Damian asked. 

“Well, there’s a Farris wheel over there, a few games, and a petting zoo.” Marinette said as she looked at the map. 

“What would you like to do first?” Damian asked. 

Marinette thought for a moment. “I was thinking of going onto the Farris wheel. Is that okay with you?”

“That is fine with me.” Damian shrugged. 

Marinette couldn’t help but stare in awe at what was around her. The way the fair lights reflected into the night sky and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Quickly she took out her phone to take a picture. 

“Hey Marinette, are you cold?” Damian asked. 

Marinette hadn’t even realized she was shaking slightly. “No not really. Hey, can I take a photo of the two of us so I have a contact photo for the both of us?” Damian shrugged, Marinette turned her camera, and smiled before taking the photo. “Thanks Dami.”

“Do you want to make any changes to the plan while I’m in America?” Damian asked. 

“I don’t think so. Do you want me to send you this so you have a profile picture of me?” Marinette asked. 

“If you would like to.” Damian shrugged as he helped Marinette out of the cart. 

They walked around, passing a few food carts, and games before going onto a small ride called The Twister. Damian seemed unfazed while Marinette got extremely dizzy, Damian had to carry her, bridal style, off of the ride. 

“I’m fine Damian.” Marinette insisted. 

“You almost fell over last time.” Damian quirked an eyebrow. 

“That was like five minutes ago. I’m fine, put me down.” Marinette tried to act annoyed but the smile on her face said otherwise.

“Fine.” Damian put Marinette down gently. 

“Thank you.” Marinette giggled softly as she stood up straight. 

“Maribitch! What the fuck are you doing?” Alya yelled. 

“I’m hanging out with my boyfriend.” Marinette said coldly. 

“You’re cheating on Adrien!” Alya yelled. 

“I’m filing a restraining order on him after he sextually harrassed me. Adrien and I were never a thing, and never will be. I haven’t liked him since we were fourteen.” Marinette stated. 

“Oh really? How did he ‘harass’ you?” Alya spat. 

“He took advantage of me, groped me, tried taking off my shirt, not to mention the multiple advances he’s made on me for the last three years that I have already told him were making me uncomfortable, yet he never stopped. This time I’m putting a stop to it, and he will have to listen.” Marinette said venomously. 

Alya looked at Marinette like she grew a second head. Not knowing what to say or do she stormed off and away from the duo.

“Angel?” Damian asked softly. 

“I’m fine, let’s go.” Marinette stated, and stormed away. 

“Angel, slow down. Talk to me.” Damian said softly as he walked next to Marinette. 

“Don’t tell me to slow down Damian.” Marinette grumbled angrily. 

“Marinette, I need you to calm down, please.” Damian said softly but his words fell to deaf ears. Having enough, Damian walked in front of Marinette. “You need to slow down.” 

“Damian.” Marinette said weakly. 

“Marinette, talk to me.” Damian insisted. 

“I don’t want to talk.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Then let me, I’ll talk, and you listen.” Marinette nodded and Damian continued. “Alya, your ex-best friend has been calling you a bitch for at least a year.” Marinette nodded. “Adrien harasses you on a day to day basis, and you just found out he was your partner. Meaning he harassed you in all aspects of your life.” Marinette nodded again. “You haven’t been able to get out of you old class, and everyone but Chloé in said class hates your entire being.” 

“The sums it up.” Marinette said softly. 

“When will you talk to me about it?” Damian urged. 

“When I’m ready, I’ll talk about it. I’m not ready to do so.” Marinette stated. “Can we please change the subject.”

“Fine.” Damian huffed. “What should I bring over for tonight?”

“A toothbrush, change of clothes, anything you need for the morning.” Marinette stated. 

“Okay.” Damian said. 

“Okay, let’s just.. try to find everyone else.” Marinette said softly, feeling the tension between them growing. 

After twenty minutes the five teens met up outside of the haunted house. Luka, Kagami and Chloé insisted that they went in as a group. 

“Fair warning, Marinette has a slight fear of this jumping out at her.” Chloé said as they walked into the haunted house. 

Damian nodded, and made sure to stand closer to Marinette. As they walked further and further into the house Damian could see how jumpy Marinette could get so he held her hand. Marinette squeezed Damian’s hand tightly whenever there was a jump scare or they were in a dark area. 

After one particular scare Marinette pressed her head to Damian’s arm. Damian wrapped his arm around Marinette’s back, and pulled her closer. 

“Marinette, the haunted house is over.” Damian whispered softly, Marinette didn’t move. “Marinette?”

Damian pulled Marinette’s face off of his chest to see the girl sleeping peacefully. Carefully Damian picked Marinette up bridal style, and walked back to the bakery with the rest of the group. 

“Damian, are you sure you’re okay with carrying her? We can just wake her up.” Chloé suggested. 

“I would rather carry Marinette than risk her walking into the road or into a group of strangers.” Damian said quietly so he didn’t wake up Marinette. 

Once they were by the bakery Marinette started to stir. “Gah! What the! Put me down!” 

“Angel, it’s me. We’re by your parents’ bakery.” Damian said as he carefully put Marinette down. 

“Oh, what happened?” Marinette asked. 

“You passed out after the haunted house. Damian had carried you back.” Luka smirked. 

“Oh.” Marinette blushed. “T-thanks Dami.”

“Movie time!” Chloé cheered as they walked into the bakery. 

“Damian, were you able to get the stuff you needed for the night?” Marinette asked as they walked up the stairs. 

“Yes, we passed my place on the way back. Luka insisted that if I was carrying you, then he could carry my bag.” Damian shrugged. 

“Oh, sorry that you had to carry me all the way back.” Marinette blushed softly. 

“It’s not a problem, Angel.” Damian said as everyone walked into Marinette’s room. 

“Okay, what’s first on the movie list?” Luka asked. 

“Let’s start out with the scariest movies!” Chloé smirked. 

“I second that.” Kagami stated. 

“Same.” Luka shrugged. 

“You all suck.” Marinette grumbled. 

Chloé smirked and whispered into Marinette’s ear. “Don’t worry girl, I’m sure you two will get there too.”

“Chloé!” Marinette shrieked and covered her face, Chloé just smiled and sat down. 

“Come on, let’s watch the movies.” Luka chuckled as he pulled out the first movie, and played it on the tv. 

Kagami and Luka laid against the chaise Chloé laid on, while Marinette and Damian sat on a beanbag. 

“Are you sure? I could just sit on the floor Dami.” Marinette said softly. 

“That would be uncomfortable, plus isn’t this a thing couples do?” Damian whispered. 

“Ya okay.” Marinette said softly as she climbed into Damian’s lap. 

During all of the jump scares Marinette would duck her head into the crook of Damian’s neck. Damian in turn would tighten his hold around Marinette’s waist. 

Chloé was the first one to fall asleep. Next was Luka followed by Kagami. Once everyone was asleep Marinette turned off the tv, and she and Damian walked up to the balcony. 

“You’re leaving in a few hours.” Marinette said softly. 

“Yes I am.” Damian agreed. 

“I’m coming to Gotham in a few weeks.” Marinette said a little louder. 

“Correct.” 

“How the, how is this going to work Damian?” Marinette asked weakly. 

“We made a plan. As long as we stick to the plan we should be fine.” Damian said. 

“No Damian.” Marinette said, getting frustrated. “How is this going to work.” Marinette pointed to Damian and herself. 

“I don’t understand what you mean?” Damian said, confusion filling his eyes but the rest of his face remained emotionless. 

“When we’re with your family, are we still going to pretend? We’ve been ‘dating’ for what, three weeks? Yet I already feel like this is killing me. I hate liars, now I am one. I’ve become the thing I hate the most in the world. I’ve become like Lila. You got dragged into this. The lies, the pretending, this is all my fault! If I hadn’t turned down the offer to be the next Guardian then you would have never had to marry me, and we wouldn’t have to live a major lie for the rest of our lives, and you could have had a normal life.” Marinette rambled. 

“No, don’t go down that rabbit hole again. I already told you Marinette, there was no way for our lives to be normal after everything we’ve gone through. This never was, and never will be your fault. You got put into a situation, and somehow made it so that nobody got hurt. You might not have realized it, but you saved countless lives.” Damian said softly, holding Marinette’s shoulders in an attempt to ground her. 

“Damian, I’m scared.” Marinette’s voice was soft and weak, it hurt for Damian to hear it. 

“You don’t have to be. You’re nothing like Lila, her life is built off of lies to benefit herself. You’re telling one lie to save countless lives.” Damian said with a soft, and small smile. 

Marinette smiled back before heading down to her room. Marinette fell asleep against the chaise, and Damian carefully moved her onto the bean bag, and fell asleep on the floor next to her.

Chloé, Kagami and Luka left before breakfast. Marinette drove Damian to his apartment. 

“It’s been nice hanging out with you the last few weeks Dami. I'm going to miss you.” Marinette smiled softly at the taller teen. 

“We’ll see each other in a few weeks. It’s the second week of November, so we only have seven weeks until you’re in Gotham.” Damian stated. 

“I’ll text you in the morning when I wake up for school.” Marinette smiled. 

“I will most likely be awake to answer it.” Damian confirmed. 

“We should have a code. So like, when there’s an akuma attack, a villain attack or there’s something wrong, and for whatever reason one of us is stuck as a civilian.” Marinette thought. 

“How about we can discuss this while we’re in the car. I’m already packed. I just need to grab my things.” Damian said before heading up to his apartment. 

Marinette went back into the car. “Tikki, do you think having a code is a good idea?” 

“I think it’s a great idea. This way you both will know when the other is busy. It could also help you both learn the patterns of attacks in each city.” Tikki stated. 

“It’s a good way to keep track of your boyfriend.” Plagg shrugged. 

“Plagg, we talked about this. Damian and I aren’t actually in a relationship. This is all for the public. When we get married in two years it can’t just be some kind of secret marriage, it has to be public.” Marinette explains. 

“If it’s not public the league could kill the people in the Order, and take the miraculous’.” Tikki added. 

“Ya, no thanks.” Plagg said before flying into the backseat, Tikki followed. 

Damian opened the trunk, and put his bag in before sitting in the passenger seat. 

“Ready?” Marinette asked. 

“Yes. Grayson called, he’s going to pick me up from the airport.” Damian informed. 

“Good. Let’s get going.” 

The drive was quiet, both teens enjoying the quiet drive. Once they got to the airport Marinette walked with Damian to the doors. 

“See you in a few weeks Dami.” Marinette smiled softly. 

“See you in a few weeks Angel.” Damian said before kissing Marinette’s cheek, and heading through the door. 

Marinette drove home, and spent the rest of her day in her room designing. 

“Seven weeks.” Marinette and Damian thought. 

The first week back, Damian was interrogated by his brothers about Marinette. The second week there were two villain attacks, and one Arkum escape. The third week was relatively normal, his brothers occasionally asking about Marinette. The fourth, and fifth weeks were spent planning for the New Year's Gala. The sixth week was similar to the third except Damian spent a good deal of his free time studying for his end of term exams. The seventh week was spent getting ready for Marinette to arrive, and his family celebrating Christmas. 

The first week after Damian left, Marinette spent sketching her dress for the gala. The second week was finding the materials to make the dress. The third, fourth, and fifth weeks, Marinette was making the dress, and studying for any tests she had before break. The sixth and seventh weeks Marinette spent hanging out with her friends, and family for the holidays before leaving. Finally Marinette was flying to Gotham. 

“Master Damian, the car is out front. We should leave now if we want to pick up Ms. Dupain-Cheng from the airport.” Alfred insisted as Damian finished with his lunch. 

“Coming Alfred.” Damian said as he walked to the car. 

“Okay, so we’re in America. Which way is the exit?” Marinette asked herself. 

Dami: Hello Angel, Alfred and I are a few minutes from the airport. 

Angel: Dami, how the heck do I get out of here?

Dami: What do you see?

Angel: I see a large pink sign, a blue sign, and some restaurants, and gift shops

Dami: Okay, what do the pink and blue signs say?

Angel: Blue: do not enter, Pink: security/front gate. 

Dami: Okay, go in the direction the pink sign is pointing. 

Angel: Okay, now what?

Dami: Do you see a baggage area?

Angel: Yes

Dami: Are there any other signs?

Angel: Yes 

Dami: What do they say?

Angel: I’m going through the sign that says exit/front gate. 

Dami: Good, once you find a bunch of people exiting the building through the same doors follow them. Alfred and I are waiting at the front. 

Marinette followed Damian’s instructions, and grumbled about how he knew his way around the airport, and was never going to let her live this down. Finally she walked through the doors Damian had explained, and saw a large limo waiting out front. Stepping out of the back was Damian.


	8. Gotham, At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette’s first day in Gotham

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating recently. I’ve been busy, however I have finished the story. I might update the beginnings to other stories I have been working on. I have also updated the chapters, and fixed some errors, or made slight changes to what was originally written. I hope you enjoy the story.
> 
> ALSO  
> For updates on my other works please follow Astute Sunflower on Instagram☺️💜

“You suck.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Well thank you Angel, I hope this doesn’t affect our relationship.” Damian teased. 

Marinette stuck her tongue out at Damian before giggling. “That would be very complicated to explain to your mother. ‘We can no longer be together because your son wouldn’t give me solid directions, and made me hate American Airlines.’”

“Mother would not be pleased.” Damian shrugged. 

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng, would you like me to take your bag for you?” Alfred asked. 

“Thank you sir, and please call me Marinette.” Marinette smiled softly at the older man. 

“Thank you Ms. Marinette, I’m Alfred Pennyworth.” Alfred said as he opened the door for Marinette and Damian to get into the limo. “Would you like me to take you to where you are staying or to the manor, Ms. Marinette?”

“If you could bring me to my Uncle’s please that would be great.” Marinette smiled, and gave Alfred the address. 

“So Dami, who exactly knows about us?” Marinette asked softly. 

“My entire family I’m afraid. Including Alfred.” Damian said. 

“Oh great!” Marinette sighed. 

“Should I be offended or relieved?” Damian asked. 

“I’m relieved, your family is huge. I’d hate to lie to them. With my parents it’s necessary because they know nothing about the Miraculous or that I’m Ladybug. With your family, and the track record of your father adopting kids then there’s another hero in the mix soon after, it’s obvious that your family are the Bat team.” Marinette shrugged. 

“Did you research my family?” Damian tried not to smile. 

“No, I remembered what you said about your past, and how much older your siblings were than you. I researched the Bat team, the villains in Gotham, and the rogues.” Marinette smiled. 

“Okay, well then I suggest we tell Master Bruce about this once we get back.” Alfred said from the front. 

The teens spent the rest of the ride talking about what should happen at the Gala. 

“So you’re going to introduce me as your girlfriend?” Marinette asked. 

“Correct. If the press knows now it should be better in two years when we announce the wedding.” Damian stated. 

“Okay, and then would we only be telling them my name, and nothing else right?” Marinette asked. 

“We can tell the press however much you are comfortable with.” Damian reassured. 

“Then can we just tell them my first name? If someone puts together my name with MDC then our lives would get a lot more interesting.” Marinette said. 

“Oh yes, ‘Damian Wayne dating up and coming designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng, formally known as MDC’. The press would have a field day.” Damian chuckled. 

“Exactly!” Marinette exclaimed. “Which is why it’s better if we just tell them my first name for now. Hope they don’t find me for a few months, and then we get married a few years down the road.” 

“You have more faith in the media than I do.” Damian said. 

“The media in Paris is mostly focused on Ladybug, and her team. I guess a billionaire’s son dating someone is big but our reporters aren’t insane.” Marinette said with a soft smile. 

“We have vultures for the media. Believe me, they will go nuts over the type of shoes someone is wearing.” Damian said. 

“We’re here.” Alfred said as he stopped the car and opened the door for Marinette. 

“Thank you, Alfred.” Marinette smiled as she stepped out of the car. 

“Thank you, Alfred. What time is father and Drake getting home from the office?” Damian asked. 

“They should be home around seven.” Alfred informed the youngest Wayne. 

“Thank you, Alfred.” Damian said before helping get Marinette’s bag out of the trunk. 

“Damian, I can take my bag.” Marinette said as she tried to grab her bag. 

“Then why am I holding it?” Damian asked. 

“Because you grabbed it before I did!” Marinette laughed. “Give me my bag, please.”

“Fine.” Damian said as he hanged Marinette her bag. “So this is your Uncle’s place?”

“Yeah, he’s not in town this week. He went to California with his girlfriend for the holidays.” Marinette said with a soft smile. 

“Does he know about your secret identity?” Damian asked. 

“He knows about MDC not LB.” Marinette said. “If he knew about LB then the rest of my family would know, and I wouldn’t be able to leave the house.”

“Noted.” Damian said as he and Marinette reached the front door. 

“If you want to come in you can. Uncle Jagged doesn’t really come here much anymore because him and Penny moved into a more secluded area in Paris.” Marinette smiled.

“Are you sure they would allow your boyfriend into their house, without adult supervision?” Damian asked. 

“Damian, if they didn’t trust me they wouldn’t let me on this trip. Don’t worry.” Marinette smiled. “Now come on. It’ll be hard to talk to you from the other side of the house.” 

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” Damian asked. 

“Firstly, when we are in the public should we act like a couple? Second, does Jon know about us being or not being a couple? Third, is there anything I need to know before I officially meet your family?” Marinette asked quickly. 

“First, yes, and to the extent of the phase two rules. Second Jon does not know anything about us dating or not. He probably thinks we are, but I haven’t given him any details until I know what your opinion was. Third you should know that Cain and Brown will be at the party, my brothers have been waiting to meet you Grayson can’t wait to see you again.” Damian informed Marinette. 

“Okay great. I’m gonna put this in my room. I’ll be right back.” Marinette said before rushing off to her room. 

Quickly putting her stuff on her bed, Marinette rushed out of her room, and back downstairs. 

“Ready?” Damian asked. 

“Yep! Let’s go.” Marinette smiled as she gently pulled Damian by the hand to the car. 

“Master Bruce just texted, he will be home with Master Tim in an hour or so.” Alfred said as he pulled out of the driveway. 

“Thank you Alfred.” Damian said politely. 

“Damian, should I expect anything when we get to your house?” Marinette asked as she fidgeted with her purse. 

“My brothers are loud, Todd can be violent and or explicit, Drake is probably going to ask loads of questions, and Grayson will be happy to see you again. Also, Grayson’s wife Kori, and their daughter Mar’i will be at the manor. Mar’i is four, and is like her mother, extremely energetic.” Damian said with a soft smile when talking about his niece. 

“You have a soft spot for Mar’i. That’s so cute.” Marinette smiled. 

“She’s my favorite.” Damian shrugged. 

“I can see that.” Marinette giggled. 

“I think you’ll like her.” Damian said softly. 

“I think so too.” Marinette smiled. “Maybe we could be the Mari duo.”

“Oh no. That would not end well.” Damian sassed. 

“Oh really? And why not?” Marinette teased. 

“Because you’re an energetic teenager who can turn into a magical hero, and she’s you except she’s part alien.” Damian said. 

“Fun!” Marinette smiled. 

“I’m sure everything will be just fine, Master Damian.” Alfred said from the front. 

“Thanks Alfred.” Damian said. 

“Of course Master Damian. We have arrived.” Alfred said before stopping the car, and helping Marinette and Damian out of the car. “Your father should be here shortly.” 

“Demon Spawn’s back!” A tall man, with a white streak in his hair yelled from the porch. 

“Damian, Marinette!” Dick smiled brightly. 

“Welcome back Little D!” A woman with orange skin, fiery red hair, and bright green eyes called from next to Dick. 

Marinette leaned over to Damian. “Your family seems to be nice.”

“I think father told them to behave.” Damian said as he leaned a little closer, they were still a few inches apart. 

“Come on, I wanna meet them.” Marinette smiled brightly before tugging Damian softly up the stairs, ignoring the looks his family seemed to give her for pulling Damian up the stairs. “Hello, I’m Marinette.” She said with a bright smile. 

“Welcome to Gotham, Marinette. This is my wife Kori. This is Jason Todd.” Dick said as he gave Marinette a small hug which she happily returned. 

“It’s nice to meet you. Damian told me a little about all of you.” Marinette said. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Marinette. Dick has told me much about you.” Kori smiled. 

“Mama, daddy, is Uncle Dami home?” Asked a little girl, with bright green eyes, and dark hair. 

“I don’t know Mar’i, am I home?” Damian asked as he bent down in front of the little girl. 

“Uncle Dami!” Mar’i cheered, and jumped into Damian's arms. 

“Hello Mar’i. How’s my little Nightstar?” Damian asked as he held Mar’i close. 

“I’m good Uncle Dami. Daddy said you were bringing home a friend.” Mar’i smiled. 

“I did. Mar’i, I’d like you to meet my friend Marinette. Marinette, this is my niece Mar’i.” Damian said with a hint of happiness in his voice. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you Mar’i. Your Uncle Dami told me quite a lot about you.” Marinette smiled. 

“Bruce should be here in a little bit. Mar’i, wanna surprise grandpa?” Jason asked with a wicked smile. 

“Yay!” Mar’i cheered, and flew out of Damian’s arms. 

The two went into the manor ahead of the rest. 

“Did that go well?” Marinette asked Damian nervously. 

“Yes. Don’t worry about Todd. He was in a bit of shock.” Damian said in his normal, emotionless tone. 

“Really why?” Marinette asked. 

“Because Damian called you his friend, willingly.” Dick smirked. 

“Today is so fucking weird.” Jason said behind the group.

Marinette immediately went into fight mode, and roundhouse kicked in Jason’s direction. She missed by a few inches due to Jason’s reflexes. 

“Jason.” Dick scolded. “One watch the language, two don’t scare Marinette.” 

“Sorry Pixie-Pop. That was a nice kick though.” Jason smiled. 

“Thanks? How did you get behind us anyway?” Marinette asked. 

“Secret.” Jason winked. 

For some reason Marinette found herself giggling at the gesture instead of rolling her eyes. 

“Bruce is back, see ya in the family room.” Jason said before going towards the front room. 

“Whatever those two are doing, it’s not going to be pretty.” Dick sighed. 

“Let them have their fun Dick.” Kori smiled softly, and pressed a kiss to Dick’s cheek. 

“Famous last words.” Dick grumbled. 

There was a soft thud behind the group, and then a mix of laughter, and yelling before Jason was running with Mar’i on his shoulders down the hall. 

“Jason Todd! I’m gonna hurt you!” A man, shorter than Jason, who seemed to be run on coffee yelled as he chased Jason down the hall. 

Damian immediately moved Marinette out of the way before signaling to Dick. Dick jumped in front of Jason while Damian grabbed Mar’i. Once Mar’i was with Damian, Dick moved out of the way, and let Jason continue running down the hall. 

“Mar’i what did Uncle Jay do this time?” Dick asked his daughter softly. 

“He set up a tripwire, and Uncle Tim tripped over it, and spilled his coffee.” Mar’i said. 

“Oh ya, Jason’s dead.” Dick laughed. 

“Bruce, you’re back.” Kori smiled at a tall man in a well made business suit, Marinette thought. 

“Hello Kori. Welcome to our home, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. You can call me Bruce.” Bruce said with a soft smile. 

“Thank you Bruce, and please call me Marinette.” Marinette smiled at the older man. 

“How about we all go into the family room, and talk?” Bruce offered. 

Kori and Dick sat on the loveseat. Bruce sat in a chair by the fireplace. Damian and Marinette sat on a couch with Mar’i sitting in Damian’s lap. 

“Do you have any plans while you’re in Gotham, Marinette?” Bruce asked. 

“None besides your New Year's Gala. I’m only here till the end of the week.” Marinette smiled. 

“If you would like we can spend a day or two discussing the situation in Paris.” Bruce said. 

“I think that would be a good idea. We could really use some help in Paris but only if you use a miraculous. The battles can become how would you say it umm accablantes?” Marinette turned to Damian for help. 

“Overwhelming. Some of the battles people have suffered, and thanks to the Ladybug cure they are only left with mental scars instead of physical.” Damian added. 

“Yes. It is too dangerous to have any of you fighting in any battle without a miraculous. However, if the time did come for any of you to fight I can grant you temporary garde of a miraculous.” Marinette explained. 

“Custody.” Damian informed the family about the French word mix. 

“Thanks Dami.” Marinette smiled, Damian gave a soft nod. 

“What exactly is a miraculous?” Dick asked. 

“A miraculous is a magical piece of jewelry that grants the power of whichever Kwami would best suit you. For instance I have the Ladybug Kwami, her name is Tikki. Tikki, you can come out if you would like.” Marinette said softly. 

Tikki quickly flew out of Marinette’s bag, and floated next to her holder. “Hello.”

Mar’i and Kori found Tikki cute while Bruce and Dick seemed to be studying the small creature. 

“There are two miraculous’ that balance each other. The Ladybug and the Black Cat. The previous owner of the black cat lost his right to use any miraculous.” Marinette said as she looked at Damian nervously. “He umm, we need to find a new owner for the cat miraculous. As of the last few weeks there has been no one in Paris who is fit to take up the task.” Marinette had to stop to take a deep breath. 

“The akumas are people that are taken advantage of because of their strong negative emotions. Hawk Moth, the supervillain has the butterfly miraculous which lets him use strong emotions to turn people into his own fighting soldiers.” Damian said. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, why is the previous owner of the cat miraculous unable to fight with any miraculous?” Dick asked cautiously. 

“He.” Marinette interrupted Damian. 

“Parce que c'est un sac à puces égoïste, à deux temps, peu fiable, harcelant, incompétent!” She said quickly before running out of the room. (Because he's a selfish, two timing, unreliable, harassing, incompetent flea bag)

“Marinette!” Damian called as he quickly put Mar’i down, and ran after her. 

“What just happened?” Dick asked in shock. 

“Something, I’m afraid, isn’t something I am going to share.” Bruce said sadly. 

Marinette ran through the hall, barely able to see where she was going due to the tears in her eyes. She hadn’t even realized that she almost ran into someone. 

“Hey!” They said partially in shock. “What’s wrong?” They asked cautiously. 

Marinette looked up, and saw Jason. “I-umm nothing, excuse me.” Marinette said as she ducked her head and tried to move past Jason. 

“Marinette, I’m not going to push for you to tell me what’s wrong, but you’re not okay.” Jason said softly. “How about you and I go to the back porch, I can tell you some embarrassing stories about Damian.” Jason grinned, Marinette nodded and followed Jason to the porch. 

“Marinette? Where did you go?” Damian called out as he jogged through the hallway. 

Damian was about to give up, he had been looking for nearly an hour. He was walking past an open window when he heard soft laughter. Peeking out the window he saw Marinette and Jason sitting on the back porch. Jason was telling some elaborate tale, using some crazy hand gestures, but Marinette seemed to have cheered up a bit. Damian made his way to the back porch door when Jason was finishing up the story. 

“So he was like BLAM, and tried punching Damian in the face, and Damian just moved his head an inch. This went on for a few minutes before Damian just shrugged, swept the creeps legs before handcuffing him to a pole, and wrote to Bruce ‘Just because it’s date night, doesn’t mean I’m taking over for the night. I’ve got tests this week, so I’m taking the week off.’ He didn’t go to patrol or any fights for the next week and a half because of his tests.” Jason laughed. 

“Really?” Marinette giggled. 

“Totally.” Jason said as he sat back down next to Marinette. “He’s also been working hard to finish patrol, and fights early. No clue what that’s about but he’s been adamant to finish almost everything before ten at night.”

“If it were up to you Todd we would be on patrol till midnight. Just because you don’t have to be somewhere at six in the morning, doesn’t mean I don’t.” Damian said from the doorway. 

“Dami! Vous m'avez presque fait une crise cardiaque!” Marinette laughed. (Dami! You almost gave me a heart attack!)

“Désolé Angel, ça va? Veux-tu en parler?” Damian asked. (Sorry Angel, are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?) 

Marinette nodded before giving Jason a small smile. “Thank you Jason.”

“Anytime Pixie-Pop, let me know when you want to hear more stories about Demon Spawn.” Jason gave a small smile before heading inside. 

“I’m sorry for running off Dami. I shouldn’t have said those things about Adrien.” Marinette said sadly. 

“Marinette, nothing you said was a lie. Thankfully you said those things in French so Dick, Kori and Mar’i didn’t understand but my father did. He will probably ask if you want to talk to him about it seeing as he’s an adult but you don’t have to tell him. It took years for all of my siblings and I to talk to my father about some things.” Damian said. 

“Dami, do you think I should bring him to court after everything. And if I do, should I reveal that he was Chat Noir? If I did that then that would mean I would reveal my identity. If I revealed my identity that would basically end me. My identity would be compromised, Hawk Moth could come after my family and my friends. He could go after you. Dami.” Marinette started to cry. 

Damian awkwardly patted Marinette’s shoulder, and scooted closer to her. “He’s not going to find out Marinette. You don’t have to charge him as Chat Noir until after Hawk Moth has been incarcerated.” 

“Dami, what if that never happens. What if Hawk Moth never truly goes away. What if he goes into hiding? What if Adrien finds out who you really are? What if he and Lila team up, and create a cluster of lies that’ll bring disgrace to our family names.” Marinette started to slip between French and English the more she spoke. 

“Marinette, nothing is going to happen. You need to breathe.” Damian said softly as he wrapped his arm around Marinette’s back, Marinette took a few deep breaths. “Angel, you need to focus on the here and now instead of the what if’s. Okay?”

Marinette looked up at Damian and nodded. 

“Good, now what are we going to do?” Damian asked as he whipped a tear from Marinette’s cheek. 

Marinette smiled, hugged Damian, and pulled away before he could register what was happening. “How about we go meet the family. We talked business earlier, I want to get to know my in-laws.” Marinette winked before walking into the manor. 

Damian smiled softly before pushing down the smile, and the soft blush creeping up his features. 

Marinette and Damian found the rest of the family in the family room. Marinette opted to sit a foot away from the couch Jason was taking up. Damian sat on an ottoman next to Marinette. Across the room Kori sat in the loveseat with Dick’s head in her lap. Tim sat between Jason and the Grayson’s. Bruce was still sitting in his chair by the fireplace, which was a few feet away from Damian’s spot, with Mar’i coloring a book in his lap. 

“Timmy! My phone is being weird again!” Jason whined. 

Tim sighed. “It’s not the phone that’s the problem.” 

That got a laugh out of Dick. 

“Just come here and fix it.” Jason whined. 

“No, you spilled my coffee.” Tim stated. 

“Ah come on Timmy.” Dick chuckled. “Help out Jay, he can buy you some more coffee next time we’re out or something.” 

“No.” Jason said. 

“Jason, can I take a look?” Marinette asked shyly. 

“Sure think Pixie-Pop.” Jason said as he handed Marinette his phone. 

Marinette looked at it for a second. His phone was an Apple IPhone. The screen was glitched so the keyboard was on the side of the screen landscape style while the group chat he was in was portrait style. Marinette exited out of the app then tapped on the app icon and it was back to normal. 

“Here ya go Jason.” Marinette smiled. 

“Thanks Pixie-Pop, I owe you.” Jason smiled. 

Marinette smiled brighter. “Not at all. Next time that happens just exit the app, and go back in through the icon.” 

“You can’t adopt her, remember Bruce.” Tim teased. 

“Yes I know that Tim. Besides she seems to have a lovely family.” Bruce said. 

“Uncle Dami, want to see my picture?” Mar’i asked as she hopped off of Bruce’s lap. 

“Of course.” Damian smiled softly at his niece. 

Mar’i ran over to Damian and showed him her picture. “Do you like it?” Mar’i asked. 

“I do, it’s wonderful Mar’i.” Damian smiled. 

Marinette couldn’t help but smile seeing Damian look happy. His smile was soft, and wasn’t big but behind it showed a lot of happiness. 

“Marinette, do you want to see?” Mar’i asked. 

“Definitely.” Marinette smiled at the little girl. 

Mar’i showed Marinette the drawing. It was quite advanced for a four year old. It was a scene of a beach, the water had different shades, the sand had variations in its layers. 

“Mar’i, this is beautiful. You’re very talented.” Marinette smiled. 

“Thank you.” Mar’i smiled. “I like your braids, did you do it yourself?” Mar’i asked as she pointed to the fishtail braids that tied at the back of her head to keep her hair out of her face. 

“I did. Would you like me to braid your hair?” Marinette asked. 

“Yes please.” Mar’i cheered. 

Marinette sat Mar’i down in front of her, and started braiding a fishtail down the side of her head. Once the braid was done Marinette pulled up her phone’s camera to show Mar’i. “What do you think, Mar’i?” 

“I love it!” Mar’i smiled. “Mama, daddy, look at what Marinette did.” Mar’i smiled as she ran to show her parents. 

“Wonderful job Marinette. You look beautiful my little bumgorf.” Kori smiled gleefully. 

“Thanks Kori.” Marinette smiled softly. 

Marinette’s phone pinged. She took it out, and saw that there was an akuma. “Umm, I have to go but I’ll be back shortly.”

“I know a good place for you to teleport.” Damian said as he led Marinette to the backyard. 

“Thanks Dami. I’ll be back soon.” Marinette said before transforming, and teleporting back to Paris. 

“You sure know how to pick ‘em huh Demon Spawn.” Jason teased. 

“Really, Todd? Can you at least act mature for one day?” Damian asked as he walked back into the house. 

“Uncle Dami, where’d Marinette go?” Mar’i asked. 

“Marinette went to help out her friends like your mom, dad, and the rest of our family does.” Damian said with a smile. 

“Ya, Marinette’s a superhero.” Dick smiled. 

“And she’s a really good one.” Damian thought. 

After an hour Marinette got back to the backyard. 

Angel: (let me in! GIF)

Damian looked at his phone and rolled his eyes. 

Dami: I’m coming🙄

Angel: YOU USED AN EMOJI😱

Dami: Yes Marinette, you’re not able to see me roll my eyes so I sent an emoji. 

Angel: Ya, now please let me in. I think it’s about to rain.

Dami: I’m down the hall. 

Angel: And it’s raining. 

Damian quickly walked to the door and opened it to see Marinette laying on a sun chair in the rain. “Angel, what are you doing?”

“Embracing my new life.” Marinette said dramatically. 

“Come here so you can dry off.” Damian sighed. 

Marinette shrugged. “I don’t feel like moving. It started raining before my transformation dropped and I had to wait for Kaalki to recharge. I’ve been soaked to the bone for the last twenty minutes.” 

“Marinette, please.” Damian insisted. 

“It’s nice out here.” Marinette smiled to the sky. 

“Angel, come inside. I will drag you in here.” Damian threatened. 

“Ha, guess I’ll die then.” Marinette laughed, trying to hide her yawn. 

Damian groaned. “Marinette, why must you be so difficult?” Once Damian got to Marinette he realized she was basically asleep. “Marinette, you are not sleeping in the freezing rain.” Damian stated as he tried to wake Marinette up to no avail. 

Tikki flew out of Marinette’s bag. “She’s going into hibernation. It’s a negative result of being Ladybug for so long. She needs to get warmed up. She’ll be fine but she’ll need to get changed, and get warm.” 

“Okay, thanks Tikki.” Damian said before carefully picking Marinette up and rushing to the door. 

“I’ll explain this to your family.” Tikki said before flying off. 

After a few minutes Alfred came in with towels and Kori flew in. 

“Let me help her get changed. I’m sure some of my clothes can fit her.” Kori said with a smile as she picked up Marinette, and a few towels, and brought her to her room. 

Kori carefully changed Marinette’s clothes and turned the temperature up a little in the room. Kori decided she would wait for Marinette to wake up.


	9. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All sorts of shit goes down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter. Also, remember to follow my Instagram Astute Sunflower @astutesunflower

Marinette woke up almost forty minutes later. “Where am I?” She yawned. 

Kori shot up from her spot at the window. “Marinette, you’re awake. You were out in the cold for too long, and past out. Tikki said it was a part of you being Ladybug for so long.” 

“Great. How did I get inside?” Marinette asked. 

“Damian brought you in.” Kori said with a soft smile. 

“Oh, okay. Is Tikki still talking to everyone?” Marinette asked. 

“Yeah. She came up a few minutes ago to check up on you though.” Kori walked over to the bed. 

“Thanks Kori, umm are these your clothes?” Marinette asked. 

“Yes, you can keep them.” Kori smiled. 

“Thanks.” Marinette smiled softly. 

The girls walked back into the family room. Tikki was still telling the family more on the miraculous, even Mar’i found it interesting. 

“Marinette!” Tikki cheered as she flew to her holder. 

“Hey Tikki.” Marinette smiled as she pulled the tiny goddess close. “What did I miss?” 

“Nothing Marinette, I was just telling them about some of the effects of being Ladybug for so long.” Tikki chirped. 

“Oh okay. Umm Damian, can I talk to you?” Marinette asked softly. 

“Of course.” Damian said as he and Marinette walked out of the room. 

“I’m sorry about that. I was so tired after the battle, and it was so cold in Paris, and cold when I got back, and I just went into autopilot, and passed out.” Marinette said awkwardly. 

“It’s okay Angel. Tikki explained everything to us.” Damian stated. 

“Everything as in like, everything?” Marinette asked. 

“Yes, everything we needed to know about your powers as Ladybug.” Damian stated, a little confused by the question but decided not to pursue. 

“Okay, well then. Let’s get back inside.” Marinette smiled softly. 

“Jason, what are you doing?” Tim asked tiredly. 

“I’m trying to do a headstand.” Jason said as if it was obvious. 

“You look like you’re trying to shove your head up your ass which is the opposite of what you should hmph.” Damian started before but Marinette put her hand over his mouth. 

“One, your niece, two be nice.” Marinette said before whacking Damian’s arm softly. 

Damian rolled his eyes. “She’s heard worse.”

“I don’t care if she’s heard worse. Act like a responsible teenager.” Marinette said as she whacked Damian’s arm a few more times. 

“You know, if I didn’t know better I would say that Demon Spawn actually.. shit!” Jason yelled as he fell over. 

“Jason! Language!” Marinette gasped. 

“I’m an adult.” Jason grumbled. 

“Then you should know not to curse in front of a child.” Marinette sassed. 

Jason just rolled his eyes and flopped on the couch. 

“Thank you Miss Marinette, we have been trying to explain that to him for the last four years.” Alfred said as he walked into the room with drinks. 

“Marinette’s a Saint.” Tim stated from his spot on the couch. 

“I’m really not.” Marinette flushed. 

“Bull, you're an amazing person Marinette.” Dick smiled softly. 

Marinette smiled softly, pulled her phone, and stylist pen out of her pocketbook. Pulling up an old design Marinette made some new edits before finally putting the design into the finished folder. Marinette started working on a new design minutes later. She hadn’t even realized that Mar’i was sitting next to her, and watched as she worked. Finally looking up she smiled softly as she saw Mar’i looking at her design happily. 

“Do you like it?” Marinette asked softly. 

“How did you learn how to draw like that?” Mar’i asked. 

“I got interested in designing when I was younger. Over the years I’ve started to design things for people. Now I run a online store where I sell different designs.” Marinette explained. 

“That’s pretty.” Mar’i smiled. 

“Thanks Mar’i. Do you want to see some more designs?” Marinette asked. 

“Please.” Mar’i said with a big smile. 

Marinette opened her finished designs folder, and showed Mar’i her designs. Mar’is favorite was a simple princess themed, knee length dress that Marinette originally made for Manon, but the girl thought she was too old for it. 

“Mar’i, Marinette, it’s time for dinner.” Dick said from the doorway. 

The girls hadn’t even realized that the rest of the family had left. 

“I’ll show you some more designs another time.” Marinette gave Mar’i a little wink before the two got up, and followed Dick into the dining room. 

The whole family sat towards one half of the table. Bruce at the head, on his right was there two open seats, most likely for Dick and Mar’i, Kori and Jason. On Bruce’s left sat Tim, Jason and Damian. Dick and Mar’i took their seats next to Kori, and Marinette sat next to Damian. 

“What were you two doing in there?” Damian asked Marinette once she sat down. 

“We were looking at some designs.” Marinette said. “I’m going to make Mar’i one of the dresses so I’m going to need to ask Alfred for her measurements.” Marinette whispered softly. 

Damian nodded. “You can ask him while in the car.” 

Throughout dinner the family talked about different things primarily the Gala that was in a few days. 

“Marinette, have you ever been to a Gala before?” Tim asked. 

“I haven’t, but I have gone to a few larger parties. Damian also explained some things on the drive here.” Marinette stated. 

“Okay.” Tim said with a slight smirk. 

The rest of the dinner was filled with light banter. 

“Okay everyone. It’s time for patrol. Tonight is Jason, Dick, Tim and Barbra, who is already in the cave. Damian, Kori, Mar’i you three are working together. Marinette, I would like to know more about your work in the field, and your powers.” Bruce stated. 

“Yes sir.” Marinette smiled. “OMG, I’ll be working with Batman.” 

Dick, Jason and Tim got suited up before leaving the cave. Damian, Kori and Mar’i got changed into some more athletic wear. 

A woman in a wheelchair rolled up to Marinette and Bruce. “Hello Marinette, I’m Barbra but you can call me Babs. I’ll be working with you and Bruce tonight.” Barbra smiled kindly. 

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Damian didn’t tell me anyone’s first names besides Kori and Mar’i.” Marinette said awkwardly. 

“That’s okay. I’m Barbra Gordon. Damian calls everyone by their last names. Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain are the other two girls in the family.” Barbra gave Marinette a reassuring smile. 

“Thank you Babs.” Marinette smiled. “It’s nice to know everyone’s first names.” Marinette said loud enough for Damian to hear, he just tutted and continued stretching. 

“I like you Marinette. Not many people sass Damian with him in ear shot.” Barbra teased. 

“Somehow people keep saying how I’m a special case when it comes to Damian.” Marinette thought. 

“Yes, Jon told Dick, who told the rest of us that you are the only person who has whacked Damian’s arm without being harmed in the process.” Barba smiled. 

“Apparently. Anyway, what is it that you would all like to know?” Marinette asked. 

“Tikki already informed us about your powers. You’re here so we can learn how you fight. You are going to have a one on one with Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian during the week so we can figure out your fighting style.” Bruce stated. “Later tonight you’re going to be fighting against Damian. You can’t use your powers during the fight.” 

“Okay.” Marinette nodded. 

“Before the spar I would like you to transform so that we can get some information about your powers.” Barbra stated. 

Marinette nodded. “Tikki! Spots on!”

In a bright pink flash Marinette had gone from wearing regular clothes to in her Ladybug attire. “Ready!”

“That’s awesome. Okay, what are some of the things you can and cannot do?” Babs asked. 

“My powers are ‘Lucky Charm, and Miraculous Ladybug’. Lucky Charm gives me any object that can help in battle. I can only use it once, and once it is used I have five minutes before I transform back into a civilian. Miraculous Ladybug repairs any, and all damage done during a battle that a miraculous was in. I don’t have anything like super speed or things like that. When I’m Ladybug I’m stronger than a human but not Superman strong. There are some things the miraculous can keep me safe from but some things it can’t.” Marinette pauses between each new piece of information so that Barbra could write everything down. 

“Does anyone know your identity?” Bruce asked. 

Marinette thought for a moment. “The holders of the bee, snake and dragon miraculous, as well as all of you, the League and the Order.”

Bruce nodded. “Okay. Does anyone else know about you and Damian?” 

“No. The only people that know are your family, the League, the Order and me.” Marinette stated sadly. 

“I’m sure you don’t want to live this lie but I assure you it is necessary for anyone and everyone that you know and love.” Barbra said with a sad but reassuring smile. 

“Thank you.” Marinette said sadly. “I hate lying to people, especially my family and friends but it’s to keep them all safe. I will not start a war because I can’t keep a secret.” Marinette said confidently. 

“Okay, I think questions are over for today. Why don’t you and Damian begin your spar.” Barbra said kindly. 

“Tikki, spots off.” Marinette said softly. 

“Okay, Damian please come here.” Bruce said sternly. 

“Coming father.” Damian said before walking quickly to his father’s side. 

“Okay, you and Marinette are going to have your spar. No breaking any part of the body. Do not feel afraid to tap out. This is so we can get a general idea on how Marinette fights so we know her strengths and weaknesses. Marinette, if you feel the need at any point to end the spar please do so. We can’t push you beyond your limits during training.” Bruce said as he and the two teens walked to the mat. 

Once the teens were ready the battle started. Damian attacked first trying a direct approach. Marinette stepped out of the line of fire then quickly out of reach for Damian to counter. Her moves were precise, and held a good form. Each teen threw in a number of attacks while the other dodged an anticipated their next move. After ten minutes Damian was able to get a hold on Marinette’s wrist and pulled her closer. 

Marinette tensed, and seemed to lose any control she had over the situation. She began to flail trying to get away. Seeing Marinette start to freak out Damian immediately let go of her arm. 

“Everyone out!” Damian yelled when he saw his father and Barbra quickly coming towards the teen. “Now.” 

Everyone left and Damian brought Marinette over to the bench. Marinette was trying to control her emotions. 

“Angel, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed your arm.” Damian said sadly. 

Marinette quickly shook her head. “No Damian, don’t blame yourself.”

“I do. I forgot about what happened in the middle of the fight, and just reacted. I’m sorry.” Damian said sadly, not able to meet her eyes. 

“Dami, please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault, and it’s not mine. I’m trying to get over it. It’s hard knowing that nothing has happened to him since. He’s still in my class Damian. Sometimes I catch him staring at me. I’m scared Dami.” Marinette cried. 

“Angle, I’m going to get you out of there. I promise.” Damian said softly. “I’m going to get you away from him.”

Marinette’s sobs echoed through the cave. For over an hour the poor girl sobbed. Anytime she tried to say something she would cry harder. 

“Angel, I’m going to pick you up okay?” Damian said softly. 

Marinette nodded hesitantly as she tried to wipe away her tears. Damian carefully picked Marinette up and brought her to his room, laying her down onto his bed. By the time Damian had stood up straight Marinette was fast asleep. 

“Tikki?” Damian asked softly. 

Tikki flew out of Marinette’s pocketbook. “Yes Damian?”

“Keep an eye on her? No doubt my family has questions. I’m going to talk to them.” Damian said softly. 

“Of course. I’ll come get you if she starts to stir.” Tikki said softly before laying down next to Marinette’s head. 

Damian looked down at the bluenette, carefully moving a piece of hair out of her face before walking out of the room. Once Damian was downstairs Barbra greeted him at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Everyone is waiting in the family room. Mar’i is asleep in her room.” Barbra said softly. 

Damian nodded, and walked to the family room pushing Barbra ahead of him. Once he got into the room everyone turned to him. 

“Damian?” Bruce asked. 

“I’m not going to tell any of you anything. Marinette deserves to take care of this without you all knowing. Father, I’m sure you put some of the pieces together. Nobody is allowed to do any further research on Marinette. You are not to ask any questions. Not until she is ready.” Damian said sternly. “If I find out that any of you have done any further research on Marinette or anything that concerns her without her being okay with it, I will personally destroy you.” Damian threatened, and everyone knew it was true. 

Marinette started to slowly wake up. “Tikki?” Marinette asked softly. 

“I’m here Marinette.” Tikki said softly as she hugged her holder’s cheek. 

“Where’s Dami?” Marinette asked. 

“He went to talk to his family. I think they’re in the family room.” Tikki said. 

Marinette took a deep breath before getting out of the bed. “Thanks.” 

Marinette quietly walked down towards the family where she heard Damian talking. She walked over and stood next to the doorway out of the sights of the family to listen. 

“I don’t care if we do background checks on any and everyone who comes here. It’s pointless for Marinette. I know her, her friends. You are not going to be looking into her anymore from now on.” Damian said aggressively. 

“Damian, you were the one leading the charge when we learned about Marinette. What changed?” Tim asked. 

“Marinette did! I refuse for you to do any more research on her. You can look for things about the akumas, and Hawk Moth but if I see anything that goes deeper into Marinette’s history, I will rip out your spinal cord, and beat you with it.” Damian growled. 

That’s when Marinette made her presence known. Walking up to Damian she put a hand on his shoulder before grabbing his hand. “Please don’t rip out anyones spinal cords, then beat their dead body with it Dami.” Marinette said softly. 

“Angel, you should be resting.” Damian said softly as he turned towards Marinette. His whole family stared at him in shock at the total 180 in his emotions. 

Marinette shook her head. “I can’t sleep right now. I exhausted myself earlier but now I’m restless. Besides, I need a few good lawyers and I’m sure you have a few I can borrow.” Marinette joked but her eyes still held fear, pain and possibly hope. “It’s better to tell you all now before something happens.”

“Marinette, you don’t have to tell us anything.” Bruce said softly. 

“Yes I do.” Marinette took a deep breath. “A few months ago I was sexually harassed or some might say raped by a classmate and the former Chat Noir.” Marinette stated, gripping tightly to Damian’s hand for support. “As Chat he would try to make advances on me and would always flirt with me, never reacting well to the answer no. While Damian was studying abroad he witnessed Adrien assaulting me in the locker room for all students. He’s the reason I got away.” Marinette looked up at Damian with a soft smile. 

“Has he made any form of interaction since?” Dick asked. 

“He’s tried to talk to me. Tried to make me ‘see reason’ as he likes to say. He’s also the reason that Lila was able to turn my class against me. He told me that I shouldn’t try to expose Lila as a liar because her lies weren’t hurting anyone. I’m guessing something happened because ever since that day Adrien has been excessively obsessive.” Marinette said sadly. She didn’t even realize that she was sitting next to Damian on the couch until now. 

“Angel, we’re going to give him jail time and ruin everything he has. He will never get away with this.” Damian said softly. 

Marinette nodded and leaned her head on Damian’s chest so she could hear his heartbeat. Damian smiled softly and laid his head on hers. 

“Marinette, what do you need us to do?” Jason asked softly. 

“I need to find Hawk Moth. Then we can nail the sick son of a bitch.” Marinette growled. “Also I’m talking about Agreste’s father. From what I can tell, his mother was a sweetheart.”

Damian looked slightly proud and pulled Marinette closer again. After a half hour the family had left the room and Marinette and Damian fell asleep next to each other on the couch. Damian’s older brothers definitely got loads of photos. 

The next morning Marinette woke up laying down on the couch with a blanket over her. Damian was just walking back into the room. 

“Good morning Angel. How are you feeling?” Damian asked as he walked over to the couch. 

“Better. What time is it?” Marinette asked. 

“Almost six o’clock. So far it’s just us, and Alfred that are up.” Damian said. 

“Okay, do you think he can drive me to my uncle’s house so I can get ready?” Marinette asked. 

“Of course Miss Marinette.” Alfred said as he walked into the room. 

“Thanks Alfred.” Marinette gave a soft smile. 

Alfred drove Marinette over to Jagged’s house. He offered to wait for her if she wanted to go back to the manor. 

“I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Marinette said before closing the door. “Tikki!” Marinette whined. 

“Yes Marinette?” Tikki asked. 

“Do you think they're going to treat me differently now that they know about Adrien?” Marinette asked worriedly. 

“I don’t think so. I think they’ll be careful not to make sudden touches that could make you uncomfortable, but I don’t think they’ll treat you any different.” Tikki said with a soft smile. 

“Alright.” Marinette nodded before flying up the stairs to get ready. 

Marinette brushes her teeth, flossed and rinsed before brushing her hair and getting changed. She decided to wear a simple red, v neck shirt with small pink flowers and black dress pants. Marinette packed a bag with a change of clothes so that she can train at some point. 

Once Marinette was at the door she asked. “Tikki, what’s my time?” 

“Just under ten minutes.” Tikki praises. 

“Nice! That’s quicker than usual.” Marinette smiled before rushing out the door. 

Once in the car Alfred spoke up. “Miss Marinette, I feel inclined to tell you this. The rest of the family won’t treat you any differently because of what happened. They will be more careful with you physically but they won’t treat you like you’re fragile.” 

Marinette let out a sigh. “Thank you Alfred.” 

“Of course Miss.” Alfred said kindly. 

The rest of the drive Marinette spent looking at the news in Paris. Marinette’s finger fell over the Ladyblog app and she decided to look and see what tail Lila was telling. 

“Well you see, Damiboo and I have been dating for years. He told his father Bruce Wayne that when we turn twenty we’re going to get married. Damiboo is so sweet, he’s the kindest person ever. He’s always helping others.” Lila gushed. 

Marinette glared at her phone before logging out of the app, and deleting it permanently. “Why am I so upset about her claiming to date Damian? He’s not even my boyfriend. I don’t like like him.” Marinette thought. 

Once at the Wayne manor Marinette thanked Alfred for the ride and walked back into the manor. Jason was sitting on the counter while Tim was trying to get a cup of coffee. 

“Hey guys.” Marinette smiled. 

“Heya Pixie-Pop.” Jason smiled before hopping off the counter. “You hungry?” 

“Not really, thanks though.” Marinette smiled. 

“Alright well I’m heading down to the Batcave, you want to come?” Jason asked. 

“Please.” Marinette followed Jason to the grandfather clock and watched him open it and step into a hallway. “So cool.” 

“Let me guess, you want to train?” Jason asked. 

“How did you know?” Marinette asked curiously. 

“Your eyes. You had the same look last night talking about that liar. Don’t worry, we all have something and/or someone that makes us need to blow off some steam. Whenever Dick has a case that he can’t crack he comes here. Tim does it when there’s a lunatic loose, and we can’t find them. Damian sometimes spends hours in here for reasons no one knows about, besides maybe Dick. I come down when the Joker is out or is being suspicious, please don’t ask why.” Jason stated. 

Marinette nodded her head. “Lila told me a few years ago that I was either with her or against her. I told her I wouldn’t stand with a liar and tried to tell everyone about her lying. She got me expelled but Adrien convinced her to tell the principal to bring me back. After that Adrien would tell me to keep my head low and not to say anything. Lila told my class that I was bullying her, the whole class hates me now. They've told me to kill myself multiple times and have destroyed countless of my things. She took almost everything from me, and now she’s talking about how she’s dating Damian.”

“And because of that you're upset?” Jason asked. 

“Just the sound of her voice puts me in a bad mood, but Damian is my friend. She’s using your family name to get popular just like she does with Uncle Jagged and Clara.” Marinette said. 

Jason thought for a moment. “Are her lies even good?” 

“They’re terrible. Everything has holes, the reason she can’t eat certain meats or be near certain people. We went on a trip and the one place I wanted to go to, she couldn’t go because they had a type of pigeon she’s allergic to. How can you be allergic to a certain type of pigeon, yet we live in a city full of the same kind of pigeon?!” Marinette groned. 

“Wow, how stupid is your class?” Jason asked. 

“Immensely.” Marinette grumbled. 

“Damn.” Jason said. “Okay, well what do you want to do to train?” 

“I was thinking about working on my hand to hand combat. Maybe a little bit of time as LB.” Marinette shrugged. 

Before doing anything else Marinette quickly got changed. 

“Alright, how about you and I work on your hand to hand some.” Jason smiled before pulling out a pair of punching gloves and pads. “Alright, put these on then punch the pads on my hands. If you want you can kick as well.”

Marinette nodded before beginning. 

After an hour of kicking and punching Marinette backed away. “That was fun.” She said as she caught her breath. 

“Good to know.” Jason smiled at the younger girl. 

“What are you doing for today?” Marinette asked as she took off the gloves. 

“I was going to walk around town. Bruce asked if either Dick or I could come by the office while he and Tim were in a meeting to raid Tim’s coffee stash. 

“If you wouldn’t mind but I could help. My friend went coffee crazy in our sophomore year, and I had to hide all of the coffee she could find and told my parents not to give her any coffee.” Marinette giggled at the memory. 

“I’m sure any help will be great. Maybe you can get Demon Spawn to come and we can make it a family activity.” Jason teased. 

“I could ask him. I’m sure it’ll be fun.” Marinette smiled before running out of the cave. 

“Miss Marinette, if you would like you can borrow Miss Kyle’s bathroom if you would like to freshen up before going out.” Alfred said as Marinette walked out from behind the clock. 

“Yes please. Thank you Alfred.” Marinette smiled. 

Once Marinette showered she texted Damian. 

Angel: Hey Dami. Jason, Dick and I are going to raid Tim’s coffee stash. Do you want to come?

Dami: Did Grayson ask you to invite me?

Angel: Nope Jason did. He said it could be a fun family event!

Dami: Fine I’ll come. 

Angel: Yay! Jason said to meet us in the garage. 

A few minutes later Damian walked into the garage. “What’s the plan?” 

“Bruce has already warned the employees that we were taking all of the coffee out of the building. Apparently Tim drank four cups in an hour.” Dick states.

“They’re going into a giant meeting in an hour, it should take a while. It should be enough time to get in and out quickly.” Jason added. 

“Let’s divide and conquer. Dick, Damian, you two take the coffee from a few floors below Tim’s office. Jason, you and I can get the coffee in Tim’s office, in, and around his floor as well. I’m sure there are coffee makers around the building, leave those. Workers can start to bring their own coffee single cup things and make the coffee in the building as long as they don’t have any extra coffee laying around for Tim to find. We should probably bring a vehicle that has a large enough place for us to store the coffee. Anything that can hold coffee grounds needs to be emptied. If it’s a large canister full of coffee grounds, take it. We should bring bags or boxes to put the coffee into.” Marinette’s Ladybug instincts came in. 

“Okay, what if Kori came and we passed things off to her. Like she was in one of the elevators and we can drop off things to her when we can. It would make things more efficient.” Dick offered. 

“Okay, maybe we can ask Babs to help. She can log into the security feeds and tell us if Tim gets out of the meeting.” Jason suggests. 

“That would be perfect. Do you guys have something we can use to communicate with that way we all know where everyone is going?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, we have some coms that we can all use.” Dick said.

“Great, Dami do you have anything to add?” Marinette asked.

“Just one thing, if the meeting is in an hour, then we have forty minutes to get to the building. That means there will be a fifteen minute window where Tim could be heading to the meeting or walking around the building getting coffee.” Damian stated. 

“True. Let’s talk to Babs and see if she can get into the security footage. If not then maybe one or two of us could say we’re bringing Bruce something that he forgot at the manor?” Marinette thought. 

“What if the love birds went to Bruce telling them they’re going out to tour the town. That way the two of you could see what Tim is doing inside.” Jason said with a smirk. 

“Why?” Damian asked tiredly. 

“It would make a good cover. Tell B that you’re going to show Marinette around town.” Dick teamed with Jason. 

Marinette sighed. “I know what the two of you are doing, you’re not slick. But I think it’s a good idea. If Damian and I went inside and could see what Tim is doing then we can tell the rest of the group.” 

“Come on Little D, just go with it. Tim can’t read you.” Dick pleaded. 

“Only if you show me some parts of the city once we finish with the coffee.” Marinette stated firmly. 

“Of course Angel.” Damian nodded. 

Dick called Kori who quickly made her way to the garage while Jason went to get Barbara and the coms. 

In ten minutes the group was on the road. Once they got to the building Marinette and Damian walked in. 

“Angel, later we should talk about the Gala. Possibly once we get back later today.” Damian said as he and Marinette walked to the elevator. 

“Okay, how about you and I walk around Gotham till lunch then we can go back to the manor and talk. Or if you would rather we can go to Uncle Jagged’s.” Marinette offered. 

“It might be better if we go to your uncle’s that way there is more privacy.” Damian stated. 

“Alright.” 

The rest of the way to Bruce's office was spent with light hearted banter. Some of the employees looked at the pair in confusion. 

“Angel, father’s office is right down here.” Damian said as he led Marinette down the hall. 

Damian knocked before entering the room. 

“Damian, Marinette. What are you two doing here?” Bruce asked. 

“I’m bringing Marinette around the city today. We were in the area and decided to stop by.” Damian stated. 

“We also wanted to let you know that once we’re done we’re going over to my uncle’s for a bit.” Marinette said with a smile.

“Okay, be back before six tonight. Cass will be at the manor for dinner by seven thirty. Stephanie will be coming over later this afternoon and will be staying till New Years.” Bruce informed the two teens. “I have a meeting, Tim should be in the office already.”

“Okay. We will see you later father.” Damian said as the three parted ways in the hall. Damian raised his hand to his ear. “We’re all good, Drake is in the meeting.”

“Okay, come down to the garage we need code names.” Dick said through the coms.

“On our way.” Marinette and Damian said before walking down the hall to the elevator.

Once down in the garage Dick smiled evilly. “Babs, can you hear me?”

“Yes Dick, I can hear you.” Barbra said sarcastically.

“Great, now code names.” Dick’s smile grew. “I’m ‘eagle one.’” The group all groaned. “Babs is ‘been there done that.’” Everyone could hear Barbra start choking. “Kori is ‘currently doing that.’ Jason is ‘it happened once in a dream.’ Marinette is ‘if I had to pick a chick.’ Damian, you’re ‘eagle two.’

“Oh thank god.” Damian sighed.

“Okay, lets go.” Dick cheered as he ran towards the elevator.

Dick and Damian got off at the first floor, Marinette and Jason got off at the fortieth floor (top floor).

“You ready Pixie-Pop?” Jason asked.

“I bet I can get my first bag to Kori before you.” Marinette smirked.

“Oh you are so on kid. Ready?”

“Set.”

“Go!” The two yelled before running down the hall to find any place they could get coffee.

For the next hour and a half Marinette and Jason ran around the Wayne Enterprise upper floors going in and out of any and all break rooms grabbing anything and everything that had coffee in it. They had cleared ten out of forty floors in the building, each floor only having one break room each making it a lot easier to empty the rooms out.

“Dami, how many floors have you guys gotten?” Marinette asked into the coms.

“We’re finishing up the eleventh floor now. What about you and Todd?” Damian asked.

“Jason and I are starting on our eleventh floor. Want to see who has the most floors done by the time we meet up?” Marinette asked.

“You’re going down Demon Spawn. Pixie-Pop is quicker than Dick.” Jason boasted.

“Jason, less boasting, more running.” Marinette laughed.

“Ya Todd, shut up.” Damian said, the smirk clear in his words.

“Fuck off Demon Spawn.” Jason grunted.

Marinette could see Jason running ahead of her, and decided to have a little bit of fun. Marinette quietly ran up to Jason, pulling out her phone and it seemed like he wasn’t paying attention. Marinette could hear him cursing up a storm through the coms. Once Marinette was only two feet away from Jason he still hadn’t seemed to realize she was behind him.

“Language.” Marinett hissed.

“Jesus Christ, Marinette!” Jason jumped.

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at the older man, almost dropping her phone.

“Were you recording that?” Jason asked.

“Yep! That was hilarious.” Marinette said between laughs. “Come on, I want to beat Dick and Damian.” 

“You’re not as sweet as you seem kid.” Jason said with a smile.

“I like to keep people on their toes.” Marinette shrugged before sprinting off to the next break room.

After another twenty minutes of running back and forth between break rooms and the elevator Kori was in Marinette and Jason ran into Dick and Damian in the stairs leading up to the eighteenth floor.

“Shit.” Dick grumbled. “They beat us Damian.”

“Don’t sound so upset about it Dicky bird.” Jason teased.

“Angel, are you ready to go?” Damian asked Marinette.

“Yep, let’s go. We’ll see you later.” Marinette said with a smile before she and Damian walked to the elevator and out into the streets of Gotham. 

At some point Damian felt his phone buzz but decided it wasn’t important. 

Marinette and Damian walked around Gotham for almost two hours before Marinette’s phone started ringing. 

Marinette didn’t seem to recognize the number. “Hello?” Marinette said into the phone. 

Damian saw Marinette’s face darken as the person on the other side of the phone started talking. Marinette put herself on mute, and told Damian to start recording. Putting her phone on speaker she unmuted herself. 

“How did you get this number?” Marinette asked angrily. 

“Bitch, did you really think you could hide from me?” Lila sneered. 

“Lila how did you get my number?” Marinette asked. 

“Oh Marinette, you utter moron. I had Max hack your mom’s phone. Did you really think that you changing your phone number would help you? I told you years ago, if you don’t follow my lead I will make your life hell. I’ve already taken your friends, and with you not here it makes it easier to talk with your parents. They truly are such kind people. I bet you regret going out of town for the week.” Lila said proudly. 

“I don’t regret anything Lila. I won’t let you lie to the people I know and love, and follow along. You turned my friends against me, that’s on them not on me. Don’t ever contact this number again.” Marinette growled before hanging up the phone. 

Damian stopped recording and put his phone away. “Angel, let’s go back to your place okay?” Damian said softly. 

Marinette just nodded, and the two got into a taxi to Jagged’s. 

Once inside the house Marinette walked into the kitchen with Damian following. Marinette hadn’t talked since the phone call almost a half hour ago. Damian watched as Marinette’s usually emotion filled face showed no emotions but her eyes were full of pain. Marinette reached up for a cup, and that’s when Damian saw that she was shaking. 

Marinette pulled a cup out and immediately it dropped, shattering across the floor. That’s when Marinette broke. Right as Damian was running over to her, Marinette sprinted to the nearest door. 

“Angel, please open the door.” Damian said softly. 

Marinette tried to stifle her crying and sniffles. 

“Angel, I know you’re in there. Please open the door.” Damian tried again. 

For the next ten minutes Damian tried to coax Marinette into opening the door while Marinette cried as quietly as possible. 

Suddenly the door opened with Tikki pushing the handle open. Marinette didn’t even seem to understand what happened as she curled up, softly crying with her head buried into her knees. 

Damian quickly walked in and kneeled next to Marinette. “Angel.” Damian said softly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. “It will be okay in time.”

“If Lila has my number, she’ll give it to the others.” Marinette said weakly. 

“Angel, we can change your number while you’re still here in Gotham.” Damian said softly. 

“I don’t know how I can get away from her. She always finds ways to get to me.” Marinette sniffled before sitting up. “You have to be back for dinner soon, and I have a mess to clean up.” Marinette said quietly before leaving the room. 

Damian gently put his hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “I’m not leaving just yet Angel. Let me clean up the glass. Why don’t you get ready for dinner okay?” 

“Are you sure you want me to come?” Marinette asked hesitantly. 

“I think my entire family would love for you to come eat with us. Mar’i would be extremely excited.” Damian said with a soft smile. 

“Fine, let me just clean up the glass.” Marinette said, her tone a little happier. 

“No, I’ll take care of the glass. Go get ready. You don’t need to wear anything fancy tonight and you need to bring a change of clothes for later on tonight while we’re training.” Damian stated as he went to clean up the glass. 

“Dami, thank you.” Marinette said with a soft smile before heading up the stairs. 

While Marinette got ready, Damian cleaned up the glass on the kitchen floor. 

Marinette came down wearing a blush pink sweater, light blue jeans with rips in the knees, and black platform combat boots heels. Her hair was in a messy bun and her makeup was light. 

Marinette’s phone rang, and she quickly answered it. “Hey Chlo, what’s up?” 

While Marinette was on the phone Damian got a moment to truly look at Marinette. 

“She looks beautiful.” Damian thought. 

“Okay, bye Chlo, tell Gami and Luka I say hi.” Marinette smiled softly before hanging up the phone. “Okay, ready to go?”

“Yes, Alfred should be here soon.” Damian said awkwardly. 

“Well if that’s the case, how about we talk a little about what we should do at the Gala.” Marinette said seriously. 

“Okay. The Gala starts at nine. One of the first things to know is you’re going to have people asking you laughable questions about who you are, why you’re at the Gala, lots of things. Once you get past the harpies and get inside we can just talk with some of the people who came to the event. At ten we’re going to announce who you are. After that you’re probably going to have people coming up to you saying congratulations or just trying to get on your good side. Knowing you, you will probably talk to a lot of people.” Damian started explaining. “After the ball drops we are free to go home as the party ends at one thirty. Kori, Grayson and Mar’i will probably leave around twelve or earlier, depending on when Mar’i falls asleep. Gordon, Cain, Brown, Drake and Todd will most likely leave around one to two o’clock with father.”

Marinette nodded and thought for a moment. “Okay, you obviously don’t want to stay at the party and I will probably be running on just a few hours of sleep so how about we leave after the ball drops. I think if we stayed until the ball drops then we basically get the most out of the party. Once the ball drops people won’t be afraid to have a few extra drinks.” 

“So let’s see if Grayson, Kori and Mar’i can stay until the ball drops.” Damian said. 

“Yes. Then we can head back with them.” Marinette smiled. 

“We can ask Grayson during dinner tonight.” Damian said calmly. 

“Okay.”

“Grayson, can Marinette and I come back to the manor with you, Kori and Mar’i at the Gala? If you leave before the ball drops we can find another way home.” Damian asked from his spot at the dining table. 

“Sure thing Little D.” Dick said with a happy smile. 

Marinette beamed. “Thanks Dick.” 

“Hey Pixie-Pop. Wanna spar tonight?” Jason asked with a smile, and an evil look in his eyes. 

Marinette thought for a moment. “Sure, I was planning on sparing with either you or Dick today anyway.”

“Great.” Jason’s smile grew. “Let’s get going.”

Once everyone was ready Red Robin, Nightwing and Robin all went out on patrol while Marinette, Jason, Barbra and Bruce stayed in the cave. 

“Alrighty Pixie-Pop, give me your best shot.” Marinette was a little off settled by the smug look on Jason’s face. 

“I wouldn’t give anything less.” Marinette smirked. 

Jason was the first to attack. Marinette easily dodged. The spar was a toss up what Marinette lacked in muscle and strength, she made up for in speed and agility. Jason, even though he was twice her size in muscle, was surprisingly fast. Jason was powerful and it was obvious he held back slightly when making direct hits, that didn’t mean that the hits still didn’t hurt like hell. 

After a while Marinette was out of breath. “Okay.” Marinette said softly. “You win.”

“You did great Pixie-Pop. How about you and I do some exercises to cool down a bit.” Jason looked at his family, almost silently telling them to leave. 

“The rest of the team will be back shortly. I’m heading up to get some water. Bruce, can you get my laptop and my bag?” Barba asked. 

Bruce raised an eyebrow before shrugging. “Of course.” 

Once the two we’re gonna Jason handed Marinette the punching gloves, and put on the hand pads. “Alright kid, tell me what happened.” 

“Nothing happened Jason.” Marinette’s voice was soft. 

“Bull, you had the same look in your eyes as this morning.” Jason said. 

Marinette and Jason had a standoff for a solid five minutes just staring at each other. “Fine!” Marinette gave in. “Lila got Max to hack my mom’s phone to get my number then she called me while Damian and I were out. Apparently she’s going to talk to my parents and probably tell them a bunch of lies. I’m sure they won’t believe it but it’s still annoying. She refuses to leave me alone and now that she has my number the rest of the class will contact me.”

“Marinette, we can help you. You know full well that you don’t have to deal with Lila alone. She’s already lied about countless things, bullied, harassed you and who knows what else.” Jason said softly. 

“Thanks Jason but right now I just want to get out of Paris before anything else. And stop Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth is definitely a priority.” Marinette sighed. 

“Well, you have a miraculous that you could use to get to Paris with. If you really wanted to, you could go to college and leave whenever there’s akuma.” Jason suggested. 

“I know I could do that but then how would teachers here react to their student going missing for fifteen minutes to a few hours?” Marinette stated. 

“That’s very true.” Jason shrugged. “Hey, tonight’s movie night, and Damian is picking. You’re coming, no ifs ands or buts about it.” Jason said as he put his pads away. 

Marinette sighed, loud and dramatically. “Why?” Marinette dropped to her knees. 

“Because if you and Dick are there he won’t say no.” Jason said. 

“I don’t understand why you all seem to think that he listens to me. We bicker every once in a while.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Oh come on. His movie choices aren’t the best but they're not the worst.” Jason said as he and Marinette left the cave. 

“Jason!” Marinette screamed as the fourth person was attacked by the running zombies. “Why are they running?!” Marinette buried her face in the closest thing to her which was a pillow. “Who let Dami pick the movie anyway?”

“Angel, get your face out of the pillow please.” Damian sighed. 

Marinette huffed and peeled the pillow off of her face only to watch another person's arm get bitten by a crazier zombie. Marinette tried to hide in her pillow again when Damian pulled it away from her. 

Damian leaned in a bit. “Just watch the movie Angel, it’s all fake.”

Marinette smiled slightly and turned back to the tv only to see the main character slice a zombie in half. Marinette covered her face. Damian rolled his eyes and pulled Marinette closer to him. Who in turn wrapped her arms around his middle and hid her face in his chest for most of the movie, Damian placed his arm protectively around her shoulders. Whenever Marinette got scared she would turn in to hide in Damian’s chest and Damian would wrap his arm a little tighter. By the time the movie was over, his brothers definitely had enough pictures. 

“Angle, are you ready to go?” Damian asked once his brothers were going back to their rooms. 

“Yeah, you can go to bed if you want Dami. I can get to Uncle Jagged’s place on my own, with the help of Alfred.” Marinette chuckled. 

“I know that however it’s late and I would rather go and make sure you get home safe, then something happening to you.” Damian insisted. 

“Dami, I appreciate the concern but I can get back on my own. If I need help I’ll call you.” Marinette smiled softly before leaving the room. 

Damian walked down to the bat cave and was stopped by Dick. “You didn’t tell her, did you?” He said disappointedly. 

“Grayson, how would I tell her? How do you tell someone that the person they are trying to get away from just landed in Gotham, and the reason we know is because one of you hacked his phone after I said not to go digging into her life.” Damian was pissed. “It was the one thing I asked.”

“Damian, its for her own protection. If Adrien finds out where she is.”

“No Grayson! This isn’t just about keeping Marinette safe anymore! It’s about trust! We can’t do this if the one thing you weren’t supposed to do and you did it!” Damian yelled. 

“We didn’t hack anyone’s phone Damian!” Dick yelled. “We saw he was here on the news because he apparently did some kind of photo shoot in Gotham Park this morning. It was all over the news which is why we played a movie we owned on the tv instead of watching one with the commercial breaks.”

“He knows she’s here and wants her to know too.” Damian stated softly before dashing towards the garage. 

Damian took his regular bike going at least forty over the speed limit. By the time he got to the house, he could see a certain blond walking down the street towards the house. Damian parked his bike on the side and went around to the back door and knocked. 

“Damian? Why are you here?” Marinette asked tiredly. 

“Agreste is down the street.” Damian stated. 

Marinette quickly let Damian into the house. “How did he get here?” 

“Probably got your location from a friend. Come on.” Damian brought Marinette to his bike, and quietly brought it out to the woods behind the house that Adrien was entering by picking the lock on the front door. Once they were settled in Damian pulled out his phone. “Hello, I would like to report a break in.” 

Ten minutes later the police arrived at the house. Adrien was still in the house when the police arrived and was quickly put into the car. Once the car drove off Damian and Marinette walked up to the police men. 

“I’m sorry but you two can’t be here.” One man said. 

“We’re the ones who called in the break in.” Damian explained. 

“And I'm staying here till the New Year, my uncle is letting me stay here so I didn’t have to rent a hotel for a week.” Marinette smiled. 

“Damian Wayne, what are you doing here?” Commissioner Gordon asked. 

“Marinette was at the manor for movie night and Alfred drove her home. That’s when my brother Richard Grayson-Wayne told me that Adrien Agreste was in the city. I drove over here to make sure Marinette was okay, that’s when I saw him coming up to the house. Marinette and I hid in the woods behind the house until we saw that he was being taken to the station.” Damian stated, no room for error. 

“Why would him being here be a problem Ms. Marinette?” Commissioner Gordon asked. 

“He sexually assaulted me and has been harassing me for over a year.” Marinette stated, Damian held her hand gently for reassurance. 

“Don’t worry you two, we will do anything we can to help, just give us a call.” Commissioner Gordon said as he walked the teens to the door. 

Once back inside Marinette hugged Damian then quickly backed away. “Thank you Damian.”

“Angel, would you feel safer staying at the manor for at least tonight?” Damian asked softly, Marinette nodded with her head down low. “How about you grab something to wear for tomorrow, and anything you might need.”

Marinette walked up the stairs quietly and closed the door. “Tikki, he found me here. He knows where I’m staying.” She cried softly. 

“Marinette, I think you should spend the rest of the time with the Wayne’s.” Tikki said softly as she hugged Marinette’s cheek. 

“I don’t want to drag them further into this Tikki. This is so stressful on top of us being heroes, I don’t want to be a bother for them. I’ll stay just for tonight but maybe I should give them some space after the gala.” Marinette said sadly, wiping away a few tears. 

Marinette hadn’t even noticed that Damian was standing next to the doorway until he spoke up. “If it makes you feel any better, you have made a change in the family. You are a part of the family and just because we were betrothed doesn’t make you any less family.” 

“Dami, your family has already done a lot for me and I don’t know how I could repay you all.” Marinette said softly. 

Damian shook his head and walked closer to Marinette. “Marinette, just don’t try to run away from the family. That would be stressful because I know for a fact we will all drop everything until we find you.”

“If I run, it’ll be from Paris to here.” Marinette smiled in vain, she knew Damian could see right through it but wanted to try and keep face. 

“We can talk about your coping mechanisms later. It’s nearly one in the morning, and the Gala is in two days.” Damian stated, Marinette nodded and quickly threw some clothes and her toiletries into the backpack she brought on the plane. 

They drove to the manor and once they arrived, Damian quietly showed Marinette to the guest room closest to his room. Marinette thanked him before going to bed. 

That night was rough for Marinette, she kept waking up from nightmares. Damian said to go to him if she couldn’t sleep or needed anything but he needs sleep too. Marinette opted to work on additional things for her dress like jewelry or small designs to add into the dress. By the time Marinette turned off her phone the sun was shining. Stretching, Marinette walked from her spot on the floor to the bag she put on her bed. Once she was changed, took care of her morning routine and added some makeup to make her seem less tired, Marinette walked to the kitchen. 

“How late?” Tim asked from the coffee pot. 

Marinette yawned then asked. “What?” 

“For one, Damian said you’re not a morning person. Two, you’re wearing makeup that’s making your face look paler than your normal skin tone. Third, we all know about Adrien.” Tim stated as he walked over with a poured cup of coffee with the creamer and sugar already on a platter. 

“I think I got an hour or so. I was up all night, Damian and I didn’t get here until after one and when I woke up the third time I decided not to sleep again. I think my phone read three something with a zero then a number.” Marinette said. “Thanks by the way, for the coffee.”

“Anytime. Just because you all raided my stash doesn’t mean that I don’t have extra stashes.” Tim winked before sitting down. 

The next hour was quiet and Marinette appreciated it. Damian came down and everything went to shit. 

“Marinette, can we talk?” Damian asked from the kitchen doorway. 

Marinette put her finished coffee mug in the sink, promising to clean it later before following Damian down to the bat cave. 

“Marinette, we need to talk about you pretending to be okay when you’re not. You can’t just push your emotions down like that, it’s not healthy.” Damian stated. 

“Don’t tell me how I should express my emotions.” Marinette said angrily. “You don’t live in Paris, where you can’t show any emotions. That emotional toll is greater than you’ll ever know.”

“Marinette, you're not in Paris. You’re in Gotham, you can express your emotions here. Why don’t you let your guard down?” Damian pressed. 

“Because the last time I let my guard down I was assaulted! I should have just walked away, I shouldn’t have even acknowledged the fact that he was there. If I had just listened to Lila years ago none of this would be happening!” 

Damian knew she didn’t believe that being with Lila would make things better. “Marinette, if you had listened to Lila you wouldn’t be happy. You said it yourself, you hate liars. If you listened to Lila then you would hate yourself for the rest of your life.” 

“Don’t tell me how I would or should feel Damian! You don’t have to live my life! I was forced to become the savior of Paris when I was thirteen then the Guardian at fifteen! You don’t understand the amount of mental strain that puts an adult through let alone a teenager! You grew up with the league, you were raised by their rules. Until I was thirteen I was living by my parents’ rules. I was never prepared for this! I didn’t ask for any of this! And if I wanted you to tell me how to feel I would have just willingly become your wife and live at the temple but I didn’t! I am my own person Damian Wayne so get your head out of your ass and realize it!” Marinette stormed out of the cave, leaving the door open for one final insult. 

Marinette stormed out to the backyard and climbed one of the taller trees at the edge of the property. 

“Marinette?” Tikki asked softly. 

“Tikki, I don’t want to talk, hear, look at or even be near Damian right now.” Marinette growled. 

Tikki sigh. “The two of you better figure this out or you’re going to have a hard time at the gala.” 

Marinette knew Tikki was right, she usually was but that didn’t mean Marinette listened. She didn’t speak a word to Damian until the night of the gala. 

“Aright Pixie-Pop, I know you and Demon Spawn had a fight or something but we need the two of you to at least act like you tolerate each other.” Jason said as he and Marinette walked out of the manor. 

“Jason, if you were in my shoes would you want to talk to Damian either?” Marinette asked tiredly. 

Jason sighed. “I know it's not ideal but just for a few hours okay? After the ball drops and the two of you leave you can not talk to each other to your heart's content.”

“Just, I hate when people try to tell me what to do. You can’t react like this, don’t show your emotions, don’t repress your emotions. Whenever Dami and I fight, it always has to do with things we’re trying to change. This time we fought about my emotions, last time it was him being condescending and only meaning to be giving feedback.” Marinette said softly. 

“I know, he can be hard to get along with but tonight try to act like you two normally would?” Jason asked, Marinette nodded, got into the limo and sat next to Damian. 

The two said nothing to each other on the way to the gala. Marinette spent a while talking with Jason, Tim and occasionally playing with Mar’i. By the time they got to the Gala it was nine twenty. Bruce got out first then Dick and his family, then Jason, Tim and Damian. Once Damian was outside the car he held his hand out for Marinette who was happy for the touch but still mad at the teen. Marinette smiled at the paparazzi before walking into the building. The party was in full swing. There were people dancing, food and drinks, the giant stage was empty besides a microphone and a few speakers on the sides. 

“Angel?” Damian asked softly. “May I have this dance?”

“I’m not a very good dancer Damian.” Marinette mumbled. 

“Follow my lead, it’ll give us a chance to talk.” Damian said softly. 

Once on the dance floor Marinette spoke up. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I wouldn’t expect otherwise.” Damian shrugged. 

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t done. I’m still mad at you, I don’t like people telling me who to be and how to act. But, I’m also mad at myself. You were just trying to help and I didn’t listen.” 

“Let’s make a deal, I won’t tell you how to control your emotions, but if I feel like you’re doing more harm than good I’ll tell you and if I’m being a privileged rich boy who thinks he’s far better in any and every way than everyone else, you call me out on it.” Damian stated. 

Marinette thought for a moment. “Only if we forget I ever called you a privileged rich boy.”

“Already forgotten.” Damian smiled softly. 

Marinette smiled happily and continued to smile throughout the rest of the dance. 

Thirty minutes later Damian got a text from Dick saying to get to the stage. “Time to speak in front of hundreds. Are you ready?”

“No.” Marinette grabbed Damian’s hand for support. “Now I am. Come on.” Marinette led the charge to the stage.

Bruce spoke at the mic thanking everyone for coming. Marinette stood holding hands with Mar’i and Damian while Dick, Kori, Jason and Tim stood behind them. 

“I would like to invite Damian up to speak next.” Bruce stated. 

Damian let go of Marinette’s hand and walked to the mic. Marinette picked up Mar’i and rested the four year old on her hip. 

“I’m sure you have all seen my brothers and sisters posting on Twitter about having a little sister. Tonight I would like to introduce my girlfriend, Marinette.” Damian stated, his voice sounded happier when he said Marinette’s name. 

Marinette gently put Mar’i down and walked up to Damian. “Hello.” 

“Mar’i, no, come back sweetly.” Dick whispered softly. 

Mar’i walked over to Marinette and held her hand again. 

“Oh hello again Mar’i.” Marinette giggled and picked the girl up again. “Umm, hello everyone. My name is Marinette, it’s nice to be introduced to all of you.” 

The crowd instantly fell in love with the new girlfriend. 

Once the introduction was over Jon ran up to his best friend. “I knew it!” 

“Kent, please don’t yell.” Damian pointed to Mar’i who was still in Marinette’s arms having a conversation. 

“Sorry, but you didn’t tell me you two were dating.” Jon whined. 

“Because you’re a reporter.” Damian stated. 

“Just because my parents are reporters doesn’t mean I am.” Jon huffed. 

“You must be Jon. It’s great to finally meet you.” Marinette smiled.

The three teens talked for a bit before Jon went to watch the ball drop with his parents. Kori walked over to grab Mar’i and joined Dick, with his old police friends. Cas, Barbra and Stephanie were pranking Tim and Jason might have left the party nobody really knew. Bruce was talking with some business partners. That left Marinette and Damian alone dancing on the dance floor. 

“Are you excited to see your first ever American Ball Drop?” Damian asked. 

“Extremely. Chloé said that it was cooler than what we have in Paris.” Marinette gushed. 

“10. 9. 8. 7. 6.”

Marinette didn’t even realize what was happening. One moment she’s staring into Damian’s eyes, a quick glance at his lips then the next thing she knows is the countdown is almost over. 

“5. 4. 3.”

Neither teens realized they were leaning in until they were inches apart. 

“2. 1. HAPPY NEW YEAR!”


End file.
